Knowledge Base Refresh Cost Calculator
Estimate the monthly cost of re-embedding changed documents.
With the default inputs, $0.0800/month to keep embeddings fresh — 5,000 changed docs/month re-embedded. Enter your own numbers below to recompute instantly; the full step-by-step math is shown under the worked example.
Results update automatically as you type.
- Changed docs / month
- 5,000
- Tokens to re-embed
- 4,000,000 tokens
- Re-embed cost / month
- $0.0800
- Re-embed cost / year
- $0.9600
Knowledge bases change. Estimate the recurring monthly cost of re-embedding the documents that get added or updated so your RAG index stays fresh.
How this is calculated
Monthly cost = changed docs per month × tokens per document ÷ 1,000,000 × embedding price. It prices only the incremental re-embedding of documents that get added or updated, so your RAG index stays fresh without re-embedding the whole corpus.
Is this a good result? What to do next
Incremental refresh is cheap — that's the point. If this number is large, either your content churns heavily or you're re-embedding more than the truly changed documents. Full-corpus re-embeds belong in the re-embedding calculator, not here.
Typical planning ranges
- Cost scales with
- changed docs × tokens × price
- Incremental refresh
- typically small
- Full re-embed
- a separate, larger one-time cost
Ranges are typical planning figures to sanity-check your result, not authoritative benchmarks. Your numbers will vary with use case, volume, and vendor.
How to improve this number
- Re-embed only changed/new documents, not everything.
- Batch refreshes on a schedule matched to content churn.
- Use a cheaper embedding model where quality holds.
Common mistakes
- Re-embedding the whole corpus on every update.
- Refreshing more often than freshness actually requires.
When to use a different approach
For a full re-embed (model or chunking change), use the re-embedding cost calculator. For first ingestion, use the embedding cost calculator.
Worked example (defaults)
With the default inputs above, here is the result:
- Changed docs / month
- 5,000
- Tokens to re-embed
- 4,000,000 tokens
- Re-embed cost / month
- $0.0800
- Re-embed cost / year
- $0.9600
Sources & references
Frequently asked questions
Do I re-embed everything each time?+
No — only changed or new documents. Re-embedding the whole corpus is a one-time cost captured by our re-embedding calculator.
How often should I refresh?+
As often as your content changes and freshness matters. Incremental updates keep this cost low.
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