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Independent industry check
The Gold IRA Fee Transparency Index
We checked 20 major gold IRA companies on a single question: do they publish a fee schedule on their own website, or do you only get numbers on a sales call? We record what each company discloses, not what it charges. We contacted the companies directly and recorded their written answers. Most comparison sites report fee figures without verifying them with the company; we do not, and we do not estimate. Where a company publishes a schedule, or confirmed its figures to us in writing, we show them. Where it does not, we say so.
The split is not random. The companies that publish are mostly dealers and platforms plus a few IRA specialists. The ones that do not are almost all the "call our specialist" sales model. Of the nine that do not publish online, only one confirmed its figures in writing when we asked. One company, Noble Gold, asked for a basic schedule in writing, replied twice in a single day, gave no figure, and described itself in writing as quote-by-phone.
| Company | Fees published online? | What they disclose | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta Precious Metals | Yes | $50 setup, $125 custodian, $100 storage ($225/yr) | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Birch Gold Group | Yes | $200/yr flat ($50 setup + $30 wire) | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Lear Capital | Yes | $50 application + $30 wire, $125 maintenance, $110 to $160 storage | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Rosland Capital | Yes | $50 setup, about $100 maintenance, $100 to $150 storage | 11 Sep 2026 |
| American Bullion | Yes | $25 setup, $160/yr | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Allegiance Gold | Yes | $50 setup, $125 maintenance, $100 to $150 storage | 11 Sep 2026 |
| iTrustCapital | Yes | No setup, annual or storage fee; 1% per crypto trade, metals via spot spread | 11 Sep 2026 |
| APMEX | Yes | Storage 0.55%/yr (min $15/mo); custodian billed separately | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Silver Gold Bull | Yes | Published on site; annual fee varies by custodian | 11 Sep 2026 |
| GoldenCrest Metals | On request | Confirmed in writing on request: $0 setup, $250 custodian, $100 to $150 storage | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Goldco | No | Provides a fee statement in writing on request | 11 Sep 2026 |
| American Hartford Gold | No | Not published; written request sent, awaiting reply | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Noble Gold | No | Declined to provide figures in writing; quote by phone only | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Patriot Gold Group | No | Not published; not disclosed in writing | 11 Sep 2026 |
| US Money Reserve | No | Not published; not disclosed in writing | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Preserve Gold | No | Not published; not disclosed in writing | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Orion Metal Exchange | No | Not published; shows live metal prices, no fee schedule | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Priority Gold | No | Not published; quote by phone | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Advantage Gold | Partial | Fees vary by custodian; no single published schedule | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Monetary Gold | Partial | Figures available through third parties, not on the company's own site | 11 Sep 2026 |
Yes published on the company's own site On request not on the site, confirmed in writing when asked No not published and not disclosed in writing Partial varies by custodian, no single schedule
How we built this
We record one thing per company: whether the fee schedule is published on the company's own site (Yes), confirmed in writing when we asked but not on the site (On request), only shared on a call or not disclosed (No), or published in part (Partial). We contacted the companies directly and recorded their written answers. Where a company publishes a schedule or confirmed figures to us in writing, we show those figures; otherwise the row states that no schedule is published. We do not estimate, and we do not infer intent. When a company does not respond, we record that with the date rather than guessing. The "Checked" date shows when we last verified each row. BestGoldMoney earns affiliate commissions from some listed companies; every company is measured the same way. Full method: bestgoldmoney.com/how-we-rate.