The EU Quantum Flagship's Key Performance Indicators for Quantum Computing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive set of scalable, technology-agnostic benchmarks for evaluating the performance of quantum computers across different architectures and stages of development.

Contribution

It presents a novel suite of four core benchmarks designed to assess holistic quantum system performance, applicable to both NISQ and fault-tolerant devices.

Findings

Benchmarks enable transparent performance comparison.

Protocols standardize evaluation across platforms.

Framework supports tracking progress towards fault-tolerance.

Abstract

As quantum processors continue to scale in size and complexity, the need for well-defined, reproducible, and technology-agnostic performance metrics becomes increasingly critical. Here we present a suite of scalable quantum computing benchmarks developed as key performance indicators (KPIs) within the EU Quantum Flagship. These proposed benchmarks are designed to assess holistic system performance rather than isolated components, and to remain applicable across both noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices and future fault-tolerant architectures. We introduce four core benchmarks addressing complementary aspects of quantum computing capability: large multi-qubit circuit execution via a Clifford Volume benchmark, scalable multipartite entanglement generation through GHZ-state preparation, a benchmark based on the application of Shor's period-finding subroutine to simple functions, and a protocol quantifying the benefit of quantum error correction using Bell states. Each benchmark is accompanied by clearly specified protocols, reporting standards, and scalable evaluation methods. Together, these KPIs provide a coherent framework for transparent and fair performance assessment across quantum hardware platforms and for tracking progress late-NISQ toward early fault-tolerant quantum computation.