SQL Server : Estimated Execution Plan

Question

I am using SQL Server Execution plan for analysing the performance of a stored procedure. I have two results with and without the index. In both these results the estimated cost shows the same value (.0032831) but the cost % differs from one another as first, without index is 7% and with Index is 14%.

What does it really means?

Please help me with this.,

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It means that the plan without the index is costed as being doubly expensive.

For the first one the total plan cost is .0032831/0.07 = 0.0469 , for the second one the total plan cost is .0032831/0.14 which is clearly going to be half that number.