Vector Search Cost Calculator
Cost a vector search service from your query volume, index size and prices.
In short
Formula: C = (Q / 1,000) x Rq + I x Rs x m + Fee
What this calculator does
Each metered component is costed at its own rate and summed, so no blended price is invented. The all-in cost per thousand queries follows the FinOps unit-economics definition.
Use it to turn Currency, Price per thousand queries, Queries in the period, Index size held (optional), and the other shown inputs into a checked result you can compare, copy, or rerun with different assumptions.
The page shows the formula, a numeric worked example, and the assumptions that affect this professional & industry calculation.
Inputs and what they mean
- Currency
- — Amounts are shown in the currency you pick. No exchange rate is applied..
- Price per thousand queries
- — Take this from your own bill or the provider's price page. No provider price is built in..
- Queries in the period
- — Vector searches served in the period..
- Index size held (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Vector index volume stored..
- Price per GB-month of index (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Take the rate from your own bill or the provider's price page; no provider price is built in..
- Months in the period (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Months the storage price covers..
- Fixed platform fee (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result..
- Price as of (optional)
- — The date you took these prices. It is shown with the result so the figure is never read as a current vendor price..
- Price source (optional)
- — Where the prices came from. Shown with the result..
How to use it
- Enter your own figures — the calculator never fills in a rate, price or benchmark for you.
- Press Calculate to see the result.
- Read the formula, variables, assumptions and source below the result before you rely on it.
Formula
C = (Q / 1,000) x Rq + I x Rs x m + Fee.
Inputs used: Currency, Price per thousand queries, Queries in the period, Index size held (optional), Price per GB-month of index (optional), Months in the period (optional), Fixed platform fee (optional), Price as of (optional), and other shown inputs.
Edge handling: Price per thousand queries is required.; Price per thousand queries cannot be negative.; Price per thousand queries must be no more than 1000000000.; Queries in the period is required.; Queries in the period cannot be negative..
Worked example
4.2 million queries plus a 60 GB index for a month
- Start with Currency: USD, Price per thousand queries: 0.40, Queries in the period: 4200000, Index size held (optional): 60, Price per GB-month of index (optional): 0.25, Months in the period (optional): 1.
- Apply the method: C = (Q / 1,000) x Rq + I x Rs x m + Fee.
- Both prices come from your own bill.
Reading the result
The headline figure is the main answer. Any breakdown underneath shows the parts that make it up, so you can check the working and see what changes when you adjust an input.
Limitations and assumptions
- Inputs outside the supported range are rejected rather than forced into a result.
- The result depends on the values you enter for this vector search cost calculator; it does not supply missing rates, rules, prices, dates, or assumptions for you.
Reference: The Linux Foundation — Unit economics — FinOps Framework
Last reviewed:
Common questions
Where does this formula come from?
FinOps Framework capability: unit economics — cost per business unit is total cost for a period divided by the units delivered in the same period; a workload's cost is the sum of its metered components charged at the rates the organisation actually pays. See the source link on this page.
What kind of calculation is this?
Query volume at the user's per-thousand-query price, plus index storage at the user's per-GB-month price and any fixed fee. Check the formula, example, and limitations on this page before using the result for a real professional & industry decision.
What are its limits?
Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the metering, logs or invoices behind them are complete. The result is only as current as the rates entered; a rate taken months ago is not a current price. Tiered, committed-use, cached-input and minimum-spend pricing are not modelled unless the user has already reduced them to the rates entered. Write, upsert and re-index charges are not included unless the user folded them into the fixed fee. Recall and latency are not modelled — this is cost only.
How do I use the Vector Search Cost Calculator?
Enter the required values for Currency, Price per thousand queries, Queries in the period, Index size held (optional), Price per GB-month of index (optional), and the other fields shown. The calculator applies the formula on this page and shows the main result with any supporting breakdown so you can check the arithmetic.
What formula does the Vector Search Cost Calculator use?
C = (Q / 1,000) x Rq + I x Rs x m + Fee The visible formula section above lists the calculation path and the edge cases the page handles, so the result can be checked without relying on the form alone. Check the formula, example, and limitations on this page before using the result for a real professional & industry decision.
Can the Vector Search Cost Calculator be used for exact decisions?
Use it as a calculation aid, not as a substitute for checking the underlying rule, contract, policy, or professional advice that applies to your situation. When a result depends on local rules, personal details, prices, or dates, enter those values yourself and confirm them before acting.
Formula, source and verification
Query volume at the user's per-thousand-query price, plus index storage at the user's per-GB-month price and any fixed fee.
The question it answers: What does it cost to embed our documents and then run searches against them?
The formula
C = (Q / 1,000) x Rq + I x Rs x m + Fee
- Q — Queries
- (queries). Vector searches served in the period.
- Rq — Price per thousand queries
- (currency). From the user's own bill or price page.
- I — Index size
- (GB). Optional; excluded at zero.
- Rs — Price per GB-month
- (currency). Optional; excluded at zero.
- m — Months
- (months). Months the storage price covers.
- F — Fixed platform fee
- (currency). Optional; excluded at zero.
Units: Queries, gigabytes and months in, currency out.
What kind of calculation this is
Business input model. The answer depends on business figures only you can supply, such as your own costs, rates or volumes. No market or benchmark values are assumed for you.
Method
Each metered component is costed at its own rate and summed, so no blended price is invented. The all-in cost per thousand queries follows the FinOps unit-economics definition.
Assumptions built into the result
- Mathematical: All the figures entered cover the same measurement period.
- Mathematical: Token counts, requests and hours are taken from the user's own logs or bill.
- Mathematical: The index size is constant over the period.
- Mathematical: Rates are per thousand queries and per GB-month in the currency selected.
Figures this calculator will never guess for you
- No target, benchmark, industry average or typical figure is supplied for any value.
- A definition is never presented as a goal: a cost per request is not a target cost per request, and a contribution margin is not a target margin.
- No model price, GPU price, rate card or list price is built in; every amount is entered by the user.
- No token count, context length or output length is assumed on the user's behalf.
- No currency conversion is applied; amounts stay in the currency selected.
Limitations
- Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the metering, logs or invoices behind them are complete.
- The result is only as current as the rates entered; a rate taken months ago is not a current price.
- Tiered, committed-use, cached-input and minimum-spend pricing are not modelled unless the user has already reduced them to the rates entered.
- Write, upsert and re-index charges are not included unless the user folded them into the fixed fee.
- Recall and latency are not modelled — this is cost only.
Source and version
- Standard or reference
- FinOps Framework — unit economics and workload cost — FinOps Foundation (FinOps Framework capability: unit economics — cost per business unit is total cost for a period divided by the units delivered in the same period; a workload's cost is the sum of its metered components charged at the rates the organisation actually pays.)
- Published source
- The Linux Foundation — FinOps Framework
- Formula version
- Version 1
- Verification
- Reviewed against the cited source on
- How much weight the source carries
- Standards or government
- Applies to
- Currency
- Amounts stay in the currency you choose; no exchange rate is applied.
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