# Update a single field vs Inserting the whole document again **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [April 29, 2021, 9:28am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/update-a-single-field-vs-inserting-the-whole-document-again/271607 "2021-04-29T09:28:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Divit\_Sharma](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/divit_sharma/32/32348_2.png) [@Divit\_Sharma](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Divit_Sharma)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 9:28am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/update-a-single-field-vs-inserting-the-whole-document-again/271607/1 "2021-04-29T09:28:11Z")
Which one is more costly operation? Suppose I have 50 fields per document in an index. 1. Updating a single field in a document Or, 2. Re-inserting the complete whole document with that changed field. Basically \_update vs normal insert. What exactly happens when we update a single field? ---
**Author:** ![Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/christian_dahlqvist/32/4617_2.png) [@Christian\_Dahlqvist](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Christian_Dahlqvist)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 11:33am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/update-a-single-field-vs-inserting-the-whole-document-again/271607/2 "2021-04-29T11:33:44Z")
The whole document is reindexed so there is little difference between the two options. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 11:34am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/update-a-single-field-vs-inserting-the-whole-document-again/271607/3 "2021-05-27T11:34:45Z")
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