RAG Cost Calculator
Calculate the full cost of your RAG pipeline — embeddings, vector storage and retrieval — and compare Pinecone, Supabase and Weaviate to find the cheapest option.
Inputs
3-small is 6× cheaper. Use 3-large only if retrieval quality matters critically.
Select your current or planned vector database provider.
Total number of chunks stored in your vector DB. One page ≈ 3–5 chunks.
Typical chunk size: 256–1024 tokens. Smaller = more precise retrieval.
Each user question typically triggers 1–3 retrieval queries.
Length of the embedded query string. Usually 50–300 tokens.
Fraction of documents re-embedded each month due to updates. 0.1 = 10% monthly churn.
Cost breakdown
| Item | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Embeddings (initial + re-embed) | $0.88 | $10.56 |
| Vector storage | $0.01 | $0.12 |
| Query + retrieval | $0.40 | $4.85 |
| Total | $1.29 | $15.53 |
Comparison
| Option | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Pinecone Serverlesscurrentcheapest | $1.29 | $15.53 |
| Supabase pgvector | $1.32 | $15.82 |
| Weaviate Serverless | $1.29 | $15.52 |
Data updated 2026-06-30 · Embedding: openai.com/api/pricing · Pinecone: www.pinecone.io/pricing/ · Supabase: supabase.com/pricing · Weaviate: weaviate.io/pricing
Industry Benchmark
Data updated 2026-06-30 · Embedding: openai.com/api/pricing · Pinecone: www.pinecone.io/pricing/ · Supabase: supabase.com/pricing · Weaviate: weaviate.io/pricing
Trends & comparison
Trend
Comparison (monthly vs. yearly)
RAG pipeline cost breakdown
A production RAG system has three cost components: (1) embedding creation — converting documents into vectors once, plus re-embedding on updates; (2) vector storage — storing vectors in your database monthly; (3) query retrieval — embedding each user query and running similarity search. This calculator makes all three transparent.
Choosing the right vector database
Pinecone Serverless is purpose-built for vector search with managed infrastructure. Supabase pgvector runs on PostgreSQL and is free for reads — ideal if you already use Supabase. Weaviate offers a managed serverless option with good developer tooling. Compare total monthly cost for your actual query volume before committing.
Frequently asked questions
What does a RAG pipeline cost per month?▾
For a typical knowledge base of 50,000 chunks with 100,000 queries/month using text-embedding-3-small, expect $20–$80/month depending on your vector store. Supabase pgvector is often the cheapest for small-to-medium datasets.
Pinecone vs Supabase pgvector — which is cheaper?▾
Supabase pgvector is generally cheaper for lower query volumes because reads are free (queries run inside your database). Pinecone charges per read operation, which adds up at high query volume. Run the calculator with your actual numbers.
Should I use text-embedding-3-small or text-embedding-3-large?▾
text-embedding-3-small costs $0.02/MTok and text-embedding-3-large costs $0.13/MTok — 6.5× more expensive. For most production RAG systems, 3-small provides sufficient quality. Use 3-large only for highly technical or specialized corpora where retrieval accuracy is critical.
Does this calculator include the LLM inference cost?▾
No — this calculator covers only the embedding and vector retrieval pipeline. Use the OpenAI Cost Calculator or Claude Cost Calculator for the generation (LLM inference) cost of your RAG responses.