Quarterly Financial Information (Detail) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 730,462,000	$ 686,649,000	$ 665,582,000	$ 643,174,000	$ 638,121,000	$ 620,441,000	$ 605,161,000	$ 580,053,000
Gross profit	378,494,000	361,181,000	349,825,000	344,861,000	324,672,000	316,389,000	312,302,000	292,528,000
Net income (loss) attributable to Equinix	10,731,000	41,132,000	59,459,000	76,452,000	(355,103,000)	42,841,000	11,328,000	41,387,000	$ 187,774,000	$ (259,547,000)	$ 94,685,000
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Equinix	$ (10,317,000)	$ (23,707,000)	$ 104,323,000	$ (59,141,000)	$ (450,067,000)	$ (97,814,000)	$ 33,640,000	$ 55,329,000	$ 11,158,000	$ (458,912,000)	$ 81,960,000
Earnings per share (EPS) attributable to Equinix:
Basic EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 0.18	$ 0.72	$ 1.04	$ 1.35	$ (6.42)	$ 0.81	$ 0.22	$ 0.83	$ 3.25	$ (4.96)	$ 1.92
Diluted EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 0.18	$ 0.71	$ 1.03	$ 1.34	$ (6.42)	$ 0.79	$ 0.22	$ 0.81	$ 3.21	$ (4.96)	$ 1.89