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Gold and other precious metals can act as a hedge against inflation, protecting you against market uncertainty and economic collapse. In addition, this precious metal offers diversification outside of traditional assets like stocks and bonds.
Best Gold IRAs
- Goldco: Best Overall
- iTrustCapital: Best for Gold and Crypto
- Lear Capital: Best for Mobile Use
- Silver Gold Bull: Best for Investment Selection
- American Hartford Gold: Best for Gold and Silver IRAs
- Rosland Capital: Best for Exclusive Specialty Coins
- Noble Gold Investments: Best for Precious Metals of All Types
- Advantage Gold: Best for Rollovers
- Birch Gold Group: Best for Investor Resources
- Augusta Precious Metals: best for Expert Support
If you're eager to set up an IRA gold investment, we've listed some of the best gold IRA platforms, as well as the gold IRA pros and cons for each company.
Best Gold IRA Companies
We reviewed more than a dozen gold IRAs to find the best options for gold products, supported account types, tools and resources, and more. Many of the companies listed offer both gold and other types of precious metals.
Goldco
Goldco is the best overall gold IRA. It offers gold self-directed IRAs, as well as silver IRAs. And when it comes to funding your account, you'll have multiple options for doing so. These include rollovers for 403(b)s, thrift savings plans, savings accounts, and IRAs.
As for its selection of gold coins, you can invest in Gold American Eagle, Gold American Eagle Proof, Gold Liberty, Gold Phoenix, Gold Independence Hall, and more. Plus, you don't necessarily need an IRA to buy gold at Goldco. You can also request to have gold directly delivered to you.
When it comes to distributions, you can either get physical gold or have Goldco convert the gold into cash for you.
What to look out for: You'll need at least $25,000 to set up an IRA and purchase gold.
iTrustCapital
iTrustCapital isn't just a good option for those interested in investing in gold in an IRA; it is the best gold IRA for investors who want to buy cryptocurrencies and silver. And when it comes to gold, you'll pay $50 over spot per ounce.
iTrustCapital sources its gold and silver offerings from Kitco, and it says it ledgers transactions on the blockchain through Tradewind's VaultChain platform. It stores your precious metals — in bullion form — at the Royal Bank of Canada. Plus, iTrustCapital doesn't charge storage fees.
What to look out for: When it comes to precious metals, iTrustCapital only offers gold and silver, so it isn't a good choice if you'd ever want to consider other metals.
Lear Capital
Lear Capital offers both an IRA gold investment and silver IRA option, and you can take advantage of free IRA setup and storage (for qualifying purchase amounts of limited mintage coins), real-time prices, price match guarantee, gold and silver special reports, and more. It is the best gold IRA for mobile use.
If you don't meet the requirements for the free set-up/storage fee waiver, you'll be responsible for a one-time $280 set-up fee, and you'll have to pay $200 annually after that. These fees cover insurance costs, storage costs, quarterly financial statements, and 24/7 account access.
In addition, Lear Capital offers several tools for investors. These include a precious metal analyzer, portfolio comparison calculator, inflation calculator, RMD estimator, historical chart center, and precious metals encyclopedia.
What to look out for: Lear Capital's set-up fees are on the higher side.
Silver Gold Bull
Silver Gold Bull offers gold along with various other products, including silver, platinum, palladium, collectibles, jewelry, copper rounds, and miscellaneous gifts making it the best gold IRA for investment options.
It offers both gold coins and gold bars, giving investors access to products like American Gold Buffalo coins, British Gold coins, African Gold coins, pre-1933 US Gold coins, and more. Both buyers and sellers can use the platform to exchange gold and other assets, and it even offers cryptocurrency payment options.
In addition, Silver Gold Bull lets you set up more than one precious metals account, and you can maintain an existing 401(k) or employer-sponsored plan while setting up an IRA through the platform.
What to look out for: You'll need to contact the company for more information on gold IRA fees.
American Hartford Gold
American Hartford Gold gives you access to multiple gold coins. It also provides access to silver, making it the best gold IRA for gold and silver. It supports rollovers from several accounts, including traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, thrift savings plans, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457 plans.
Its gold selection features Saint Helena Sovereign Gold, Australia Wildlife Gold, Canadian Buffalo, American Eagle, American Eagle Proof, and more (you can find its complete selection here).
What to look out for: American Hartford Gold doesn't provide exact fees on its website; it says depository storage fees vary based on account size and the particular precious metals you've got in your account. You can get more information by contacting the firm's account representatives.
Rosland Capital
Rosland Capital's investment selection consists of gold, silver, and platinum, so the platform is perfect for precious metals-minded investors. It's the best gold IRA for specialty coins as the product offering also includes bars, bullion coins, premium coins, exclusive coins, and exclusive specialty coins.
Plus, it gives users $1,000 in free gold on orders above $20,000, and it offers newcomers a free gold kit that contains information about the investment process.
It has a $1,500 minimum purchase requirement, and you'll pay a $50 one-time set-up fee.
What to look out for: Equity Institutional, the IRA custodian that Rosland Capital uses, charges some fees. You'll have to account for a $100 annual maintenance fee, a storage fee of $100 or $150 (those using non-segregated storage will pay $100, while those with segregated storage will pay $150), and a $40 paper statement fee (if you choose to receive paper statements).
Noble Gold Investments
Noble Gold doesn't only offer access to gold, it also provides silver, platinum, and palladium. As for its gold selection, all of its coins and bars are IRS-approved. Among those are American Gold Eagle coins, American Gold Eagle Proof coins, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins, PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Gold bars, Pamp Suisse 100gm Gold bars, and Perth Mint 10oz Gold bars.
The platform also offers a free, downloadable guide on precious metals investing, and its website features educational posts about all things precious metals.
As for fees, you'll pay $80 annually ($150 for those storing their assets in Delaware or Texas). This fee includes insurance, storage, and access to an online account. And when it comes to account eligibility, the following qualify for rollovers into Noble Gold's IRAs: 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, thrift savings plans, certain pensions, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs.
What to look out for: The company doesn't offer gold prices on its website.
Advantage Gold
Advantage Gold supports gold, silver, palladium, and platinum. It offers several IRS-approved gold products, including American Gold Eagle bullion coins, American Gold Eagle proof coins, gold bars and rounds, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins, Austrian Gold Philharmonic coins, and more.
The company relies on third-party depositories to store your gold, and the depositories it uses are Brink's Global Services USA, Inc. and Delaware Depository. Several account types are eligible for conversion into a gold IRA. These include traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, thrift savings plans, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, pensions, and tax-sheltered annuities.
Advantage Gold also offers multiple resources, such as retirement tools, economic charts, videos, and more.
What to look out for: You'll need to contact a company representative for more information on fees.
Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group allows you to roll over existing retirement accounts into a gold IRA — or a silver, palladium, or platinum IRA, if you choose — at It currently allows for rollovers from traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, and other accounts.
In addition, the company pairs you with a precious metals specialist to both ease the set-up process and track your investments' performance. Another advantage is that it stores your gold in insured depositories (e.g., it currently uses Brink's Global Service). It also uses Delaware Depository, which offers insurance of up to $1 billion.
What to look out for: One thing to look out for is that you'll need at least $10,000 to purchase gold.
Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta Precious Metals offers gold and silver IRAs, and gold-focused investors can take advantage of common gold bullion and premium gold. As for the platform's gold selection, you can buy assets like American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, American Eagle Proofs, Gold Canadian Eagles, American Buffalo, and Australian Striped Marlin.
Augusta makes sure that the gold coins and bars it provides are 99.5% pure, although one exception is the American Gold Eagle coin, which is 91.67% pure. You'll pay zero in management fees, but you'll have to account for IRA set-up fees and depository storage fees.
What to look out for: Augusta Precious Metals has a minimum order requirement of $50,000 for IRA purchases.
Other Gold IRAs We Considered:
- Oxford Gold Group offers gold, silver, palladium, and platinum, and it gives you an account manager to help out with the investment process. However, you won't be able to set up an account online; you'll have to call the company to get started.
- Patriot Gold Group offers both gold and silver, with a no-fee IRA account option for its users. It also offers a knowledge center and helpful tools, but it has a $25,000 minimum requirement.
- Gold Alliance offers the option of investing in gold, silver, palladium, and platinum at Gold Alliance. And as for the types of precious metals it provides, these include collectibles, common bullion, limited mintage, 90% silver, and IRA-eligible. Note, though, that you'll be limited to web use.
- Orion Metal Exchange offers a simple platform with access to gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Plus, its services include depository storage, insured home delivery, and a free buyback policy. But it has a more limited selection of tools and educational resources.
- Alto IRA supports a vast suite of investment options, including precious metals, cryptocurrencies, farmland, venture capital, and more. However, it doesn't support SIMPLE IRAs, and some offerings are only available to accredited investors.
- Rocket Dollar's investment selection consists of precious metals, cryptocurrencies, real estate, private equity, startups, and more. Plus, it doesn't have any minimum opening deposit requirements. A downside, however, is that its fees are on the higher side.
Gold IRA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
It ultimately depends on what you're looking for in an investment. You can roll over existing retirement accounts into a gold IRA, and gold IRAs offers perks like diversification outside of stocks and protection against inflation. However, keep in mind that set-up costs, storage fees, and custodial fees can also be on the higher end for gold IRAs. You'll want to familiarize yourself with the costs to avoid being caught off guard.
Minimum purchase/funding requirements can vary per company, but set-up costs, storage fees, and annual fees typically exceed $100 (although you'll pay less in set-up costs at some platforms). For instance, Rosland Capital has a $50 one-time set-up fee and $100 storage fee (some users will pay $150 for storage at Rosland Capital).
If you're in search of an alternative to mutual funds and other funds in your retirement account, gold IRAs might be worth considering. However, it's important to familiarize yourself with the fees and investment risks before making a decision. You might also want to consult a financial advisor or precious metals IRA specialist.
The downside of a gold IRA is that it doesn't award dividends, and doesn't typically yield high returns and various fees. These various fees for gold IRAs include ongoing maintenance fees, storage fees, custodial fees, and set-up fees.
Why You Should Trust Us: Our Methodology for Gold IRAs
Personal Finance Insider's mission is to help smart people make wise decisions with their money. Since the word "best" can be subjective, we highlight both the benefits and drawbacks of each gold IRA listed in our guide.
We spent hours comparing and contrasting each platform's investment products, fees, and features so you don't have to. Here's our methodology on how Insider rate's investment platforms.