The only calculator that compares total cost of ownership across the top 5 Gold IRA companies — including the coin spread most dealers don't want you to see.
Adjust the inputs — results update instantly.
| Dealer | Setup | Annual Fees | Coin Spread | Total |
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Every Gold IRA has three real costs: the one-time setup fee, ongoing annual fees (custodian + storage), and the coin spread — the premium charged above the current spot price of gold. Most fee calculators only show you the first two and hide the third, which is often 70–90% of your total cost.
This calculator shows all three. We use published fee data from each dealer's own disclosures, and we let you stress-test the coin spread with a slider (since no dealer publishes their spread schedule). Adjust the markup slider to model different scenarios and see how sensitive total cost is to that single variable.
One-time account opening fee paid to the custodian. Ranges from $50 to $80 across major dealers. Often waived on qualifying larger rollovers.
Combined custodian administration and depository storage. Published rates vary from $125/year (AHG) to $230/year (Noble, segregated). These compound linearly over your time horizon.
The premium above spot gold that dealers charge on the metals themselves. Bullion coins: 3–7%. Premium/proof coins: 10–25%. This is where Gold IRA dealers make most of their profit — and the single biggest cost variable.
Segregated storage keeps your specific coins physically separate (you get back exactly what you deposited). It typically adds $50/year vs non-segregated/commingled storage, which is still IRS-compliant but pools your gold with other clients'.
The calculator assumes a static portfolio — you buy once, hold, pay annual fees, eventually liquidate. In reality, Gold IRA performance also depends on the gold price itself (which this calculator intentionally doesn't forecast) and any promotional offers or negotiated discounts at purchase time.
A few things to consider when reading your results:
Augusta's published fees are in the middle of the pack ($50 setup, ~$200/year combined). Their first year is frequently waived for qualifying accounts over $100,000. Augusta's 1-on-1 education process is their real value-add, not their pricing. For investors who want the most transparent operation (zero BBB complaints in 3 years) at a price that's competitive, not cheap. Read our full Augusta review →
Goldco's annual fees match Augusta's. Their genuine competitive advantage is promotional silver offers (up to 10% back on qualifying purchases), which this calculator doesn't include. If you'd use that silver promotion, Goldco's effective cost is meaningfully lower than the headline number. Read our full Goldco review →
Birch has the lowest published annual fees among the mid-tier dealers (~$180/year non-segregated). They also have the most product flexibility, including platinum and palladium, plus transparent written fee disclosures. Strong choice for investors who value fee clarity. Read our full Birch review →
AHG has the lowest published annual fee at approximately $125/year combined, and the lowest-minimum option alongside Birch. Like Goldco, they often run promotional silver offers (up to $15,000 free silver on very large rollovers). Best accessibility + customer review volume in the industry. Read our full AHG review →
Noble has the lowest entry minimum of any dealer we track but slightly higher annual fees, especially for segregated storage. Best for investors with very small rollovers who are priced out of every other option. Not the cheapest per-dollar, but sometimes the only choice for sub-$10K accounts.
On a typical $50,000 Gold IRA held for 10 years, expect total costs in the $6,500–$9,500 range. That breaks down to roughly $50 in setup, $2,000 in annual fees over the decade, and $4,000–$7,500 in coin premium above spot. The coin premium varies dramatically based on whether you buy bullion coins (lower spread) or premium/proof coins (higher spread).
On published annual fees alone, American Hartford Gold is lowest at ~$125/year, followed by Birch Gold at ~$180/year (non-segregated). Augusta and Goldco both charge ~$200/year. But as this calculator shows, total cost depends far more on coin spread than annual fees — so the cheapest annual fee doesn't automatically mean lowest total cost.
Because that's where they make their money. Setup and annual custodian fees are mostly pass-through costs to third-party custodians and depositories. The dealer's actual profit comes from the premium baked into the coin price. Publishing a spread schedule would commoditize their main revenue stream. No major Gold IRA dealer discloses this number publicly — including the most transparent ones.
Our 3–20% range reflects the documented industry spread range. The default of 8% is a reasonable mixed-portfolio estimate. For a precise figure, you'd need to request quotes from dealers on identical coins and compare — but for comparison purposes across dealers within this calculator, the markup you pick applies equally to all dealers, so relative ranking remains accurate even if the absolute number is off.
Setup and annual fees are generally fixed. Coin markup is very negotiable, especially on rollovers above $100,000. Dealers are often willing to reduce spread, throw in free silver, or waive first-year fees to close larger accounts. It costs nothing to ask, and the potential savings can be thousands of dollars. Get multiple quotes and use them to negotiate.
No — intentionally. We don't forecast gold prices, and performance depends on market appreciation which is impossible to predict. This calculator isolates the cost side of the equation so you can compare dealers on a pure apples-to-apples basis. Your actual return depends on what gold does over your holding period.
Dealers below their minimum are shown grayed out with a strikethrough and an "ineligible" notice. Minimums are hard floors — you can't negotiate them down. Augusta is strictest at $50K; Goldco requires $25K; Birch and AHG require $10K; Noble requires just $2K. For very small rollovers under $10K, Noble is often the only viable Gold IRA option.