---
title: "What is bring-your-own-bucket?"
description: "Bring-your-own-bucket means media URIs point at a bucket you already pay for, so the catalog stores typed pointers instead of a second copy of the bytes."
url: "https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-bring-your-own-bucket"
updated: "2026-09-29"
vertical: "Storage"
doc: "https://pixeltable.com/pricing"
---

# What is bring-your-own-bucket?

Bring-your-own-bucket means media URIs point at a bucket you already pay for, so the catalog stores typed pointers instead of a second copy of the bytes.

Updated: 2026-09-29
Part of [What is object storage?](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-object-storage).

## On this page

- [How it works](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-bring-your-own-bucket#how-it-works)
- [What it is not](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-bring-your-own-bucket#what-it-is-not)
- [Comparison](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-bring-your-own-bucket#comparison)
- [Where Pixeltable fits](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-bring-your-own-bucket#where-pixeltable-fits)
- [Questions](https://pixeltable.com/learn/what-is-bring-your-own-bucket#questions)

## How it works {#how-it-works}


- You configure the bucket.
- Columns reference objects there.
- The bucket provider bills the bytes. The database bills the catalog, if you are on a hosted plan.

## What it is not {#what-it-is-not}

It does not make the database vendor your object-store bill.

## bring-your-own-bucket: this, and the thing it is confused with {#comparison}

|  | This | Not this |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bytes | Your bucket | A second copy in the database |
| Bill for those bytes | The bucket provider | The database, again |
| Catalog | Typed pointers | The bucket listing |

## Where Pixeltable fits {#where-pixeltable-fits}

Pixeltable hosted plans can use a bucket you bring. Storage in that bucket is not billed again as managed media.

## Questions {#questions}

### How does bring-your-own-bucket work? {#faq-1}

You configure the bucket. Columns reference objects there. The bucket provider bills the bytes. The database bills the catalog, if you are on a hosted plan.

### What is bring-your-own-bucket often confused with? {#faq-2}

It does not make the database vendor your object-store bill.

## Related

- [Documentation](https://pixeltable.com/pricing)
- [S3 Files, Hugging Face Buckets, and the Storage Problem Pixeltable Already Solved](https://pixeltable.com/blog/s3-files-huggingface-buckets-pixeltable-storage)
- [Multimodal application](https://pixeltable.com/use-cases/multimodal-ai-application-development)