Snowflake calculates its costs based on a combination of factors, including storage usage, compute usage, and data transfer. Here's an overview of how Snowflake calculates costs:
1. Storage Costs: Snowflake calculates storage costs based on the amount of data stored in the platform. The storage usage is measured in bytes and billed per unit of storage per month. Snowflake offers pricing tiers for storage, where the cost per unit decreases as the total storage volume increases.
2. Compute Costs: Snowflake calculates compute costs based on the resources used for query processing. The compute usage is measured in compute credits, which represent the amount of computational resources consumed. Compute credits are billed based on the type and size of the virtual warehouses used, as well as the duration of their usage.
- Virtual Warehouses: Snowflake offers different types and sizes of virtual warehouses, each with a specific compute capacity. The cost of virtual warehouses varies based on their size, configuration, and utilization. Users are billed for the compute credits consumed by the virtual warehouses during their active period.
- Concurrency Scaling: Snowflake provides the option for concurrency scaling, which automatically scales compute resources to handle increased workload concurrency. Concurrency scaling costs are based on the number of additional compute credits used for scaling and are billed separately from the main virtual warehouse costs.
3. Data Transfer Costs: Snowflake calculates data transfer costs for transferring data in and out of the Snowflake platform. Data transfer costs vary based on the volume of data transferred and the location (region) of the data transfer.
- Data Ingestion: Snowflake allows data ingestion from various sources, and the cost of data ingestion depends on the source and the method used for data loading.
- Data Egress: When data is extracted or transferred out of Snowflake, either for consumption or backup purposes, data egress costs are incurred. The cost depends on the volume of data transferred and the destination of the transfer.
4. Additional Features and Services: Snowflake offers additional features and services that may have associated costs. These include features such as Snowflake Data Sharing, Time Travel, Fail-Safe, and Snowflake Secure Data Sharing. The costs for these features are calculated based on their specific usage and pricing models.
It's important to note that Snowflake's pricing model is based on a pay-per-use model, where customers are billed for the actual resources consumed and the duration of their usage. Snowflake provides detailed billing and usage reports, enabling customers to monitor and track their costs based on their resource utilization.
Overall, Snowflake's cost calculation takes into account storage usage, compute usage (including virtual warehouses and concurrency scaling), data transfer, and any additional features or services utilized by customers.
