RAG Storage Cost Calculator
Price the RAG corpus: documents, tokens each, embedding runs and vector storage.
Documents
Tokens per doc
Vector DB $/mo
Corpus = docs × tokens ÷ 1M. Embedding ≈ $0.02/1M one-time + vector DB monthly.
Live estimate
- Corpus (M tokens)
- 80.0
- One-time embedding
- $1.60
- Monthly (DB + amortized)
- $70.13
- Annual storage
- $841.60
RAG storage benchmarks
Storage is cheap; the vector pod dominates the bill.
| Corpus | Embedding once | DB/mo |
|---|---|---|
| 10K docs | $0.16 | $25 |
| 100K docs | $1.60 | $70 |
| 1M docs | $16.00 | $200 |
Frequently asked questions
- How is rag storage cost calculated?
- Corpus = docs × tokens ÷ 1M. Embedding ≈ $0.02/1M one-time + vector DB monthly. Storage is cheap; the vector pod dominates the bill.
- What inputs do I need for the rag storage cost calculator?
- Enter documents, tokens per doc, vector db $/mo. Defaults reflect typical 2026 usage; replace them with your own vendor quote or last month of logs for an exact figure.
- What is a typical rag storage cost benchmark?
- 100K docs × 800 tokens embeds for $1.60 once, plus a $70/mo pod.
- How to shrink the corpus bill?
- Chunk smarter (fewer, denser chunks) and expire stale docs before buying bigger pods.
- How can I lower my rag storage cost?
- Cut volume waste first (shorter durations, fewer retries, tighter prompts), then route to cheaper tiers for drafts, enable caching/batch where available, and cap per-user or per-job spend with alerts. Re-run the calculator after each change to size the saving.
- Is this calculator free?
- Free forever, no sign-up, runs 100% in your browser. Copy results or export CSV for your budget doc.