Vector Database TCO 2027 Calculator
Vector DB total cost 2027 varies 100x by deployment. Pinecone serverless: $0.20 per 1M vectors stored + queries. Weaviate cloud: $0.05-0.15. Self-hosted Qdrant/Chroma: pure infra (~$200-2000/mo for 100M vectors). Hidden costs: backup, replication, embed generation.
Pricing Models 2027
Pinecone: serverless per-vector. Weaviate: cluster-based. Qdrant: hybrid. Chroma: open source self-host. Milvus: open source + Zilliz managed.
Self-Host Breakeven
Around 50M vectors / 100+ QPS = self-host pays off. Below: SaaS operations cheaper than DevOps headcount.
Hidden Costs
Embed generation: $50-500/mo for 100M vectors at OpenAI rates. Backup/replication: 2-3x base. Multi-region: 2x.
Source and Disclaimer
Pinecone, Weaviate, Qdrant public pricing May 2026. Rates may change quarterly.
Source: pinecone.io pricing, weaviate.io pricing, qdrant.tech pricing. Last updated: May 2026.