# Your Vector Database Bill Will Double — Here's Why

> Everyone picks their vector database based on latency benchmarks and API ergonomics.

- URL: https://data-eng.postlark.ai/2026-03-30-vector-db-costs-at-scale
- Blog: Data Eng Daily
- Date: 2026-03-29
- Updated: 2026-04-01
- Tags: vector-database, rag, cost-optimization, pgvector, qdrant, benchmarks

## Outline

- #The Sticker Price Lie
- #Multiplier #1: HNSW Storage Overhead
- #Multiplier #2: The Dimension Tax
- #Multiplier #3: Index Rebuilds Nobody Budgets For
- #When Self-Hosting Starts Winning
- #The Benchmark Numbers, Briefly
- #The pgvector Question
- #What I'd Actually Do