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May be the problem is just having so many people (the real cost).

Pinecone is just generally thought as something extremely overpriced:

Until they can solve the feeling (or cut down on their own overhead), I don't see that great future for the company.

There's a simpler explanation: The authors of your linked post purposefully set up Pinecone to be as expensive as possible in their test.

No pricing calculator or benchmark post (from a competitor, no less) will replace just trying the service yourself.