Ingesting a large number of small files (e.g., files smaller than 10 MB) using Snowpipe can lead to disproportionately high costs due to the per-file overhead charges. Each file, regardless of its size, incurs the same overhead fee, making the ingestion of numerous small files less cost-effective. Additionally, small files can increase the load on Snowflake's metadata and ingestion infrastructure, potentially impacting performance.
Snowpipe charges are based on the compute resources used for data ingestion and include an additional per-file overhead fee. Specifically, there's a charge of 0.06 credits per 1,000 files loaded, regardless of file size.
Implement batching mechanisms to aggregate small files into larger ones before ingestion, aiming for file sizes between 10 MB and 250 MB for optimal cost-performance balance. Adjust data pipeline configurations to stage data at regular intervals (e.g., every few minutes) to allow for file aggregation. Explore using Snowpipe Streaming for real-time ingestion scenarios, as it may offer more cost-effective options for high-frequency, small data loads. Monitor Snowpipe usage and costs regularly to identify and address inefficiencies promptly.
