Augusta Precious Metals vs Priority Gold: Fees, Minimums, Buyback and Complaints Compared (2026)

Augusta Precious Metals asks for $50,000 and publishes its account fees, while Priority Gold opens IRAs from about $10,000 and publishes no fee schedule, as of October 2026. So the two companies differ less on price tags you can see than on what each puts in writing. Which written terms matter for your money?

The biggest cost at both companies is likely the markup on the coins you buy, and neither gives a price per coin on its website. The markup is the amount the company adds above the metal's value. Account fees are the smaller yearly bills from the vault and from the custodian, the regulated firm that holds your IRA. This page belongs to our guide to gold IRA companies, and it is built from each company's own pages, BBB records and court indexes.

The sections follow the title: fees and promotions, then the $50,000 and $10,000 minimums. Buyback and cancellation wording follows, including Priority Gold's 18% consignment fee, then complaints and court records. The page ends with a verdict by reader situation. We do not name an overall winner.

The five key numbers are listed below. Augusta's figures come from Augusta's FAQ, last updated September 23, 2026. BBB stands for Better Business Bureau.

• Minimum: $50,000 at Augusta vs "typically ... $10,000 for IRAs" at Priority Gold (as of Oct. 2, 2026).
• Account fees in year one: $285 at Augusta, published, vs not published at Priority Gold (as of Oct. 2, 2026).
• Promotion: up to 10 years of custodian and depository fees paid by Augusta vs up to $15,000 in free silver, tiers not published (as of Oct. 2, 2026).
• Cancellation window: up to 7 calendar days at Augusta vs 3 business days to 15 days by state, 13 states not listed (as of Oct. 2, 2026).
• BBB complaints closed in three years: 1 for Augusta vs 38 for Priority Gold (as of Oct. 2, 2026).

Augusta Precious Metals vs Priority Gold at a Glance: 16 Facts Side by Side#

The table below compares the same 16 facts for Augusta Precious Metals and Priority Gold. Each fact comes from the company's own page, a BBB profile or a court index, with the date we checked it.

Five terms in the table need a plain meaning. A depository is the vault that stores your coins. Segregated storage keeps your coins apart from other people's, and non-segregated (pooled) storage does not. BBB accreditation is a paid membership, separate from the BBB grade. Consignment means the company sells your coins to someone else for a fee.

Company website links in this table: SafeOunce earns nothing from these links.

Table T1: Augusta Precious Metals vs Priority Gold: 16 facts, checked October 2, 2026. The legal-name and offices rows identify the companies and are not counted in the 16.

Where a cell says "not published", we looked on the company's website and found nothing. We add the figure when the company puts it in writing. Our Augusta Precious Metals review covers the company alone.

The one other page that compares these two companies gives Priority Gold a BBB grade of A, a start year of 2015 and "up to $5000 in free silver". The BBB shows A+ and a 2001 start date, and Priority Gold's own page says up to $15,000.

Other ranking pages misstate six Augusta facts, as the table below shows.

Table: Six Augusta figures in circulation against the record, read October 2, 2026.

The Priority Gold review does the same for Priority Gold.

Three more facts sit outside the 16: the metals each company sells, its named education staff and its opening time. The table below lists them.

Table: Products, education and opening time, each in the company's own words.

Ranking pages also give Mr. Steele an academic credential that we could not verify.

How Do Augusta and Priority Gold Fees Compare?#

Augusta publishes its account fees, $285 in year one and $235 a year after, and Priority Gold publishes no fee schedule, as of October 2026. Which is cheaper, then? On account fees the two are likely close, because custodians set those fees.

The markup decides the real cost. Account fees are flat yearly bills, while the markup is a one-time cost inside the price of each coin. One percentage point of markup on a $100,000 order is $1,000. Our guide to gold IRA fees lists every cost layer, from setup to exit.

Account fees: $285 in year one at Augusta, no published schedule at Priority Gold#

Augusta's FAQ lists $285 in account fees for year one, and Priority Gold's website lists none, as of October 2, 2026. Augusta's FAQ, last updated September 23, 2026, lists a "$50 one-time account setup fee" and a "$125 annual custodian fee". It adds a "$110 annual depository storage and insurance fee". These are flat fees: the same dollar amount at any account size.

The table below sets Augusta's published fees beside the schedules of two custodians. Exit fees are what the custodian charges when you sell, move or close.

Table T2: Priority Gold publishes no fee schedule. The last two columns are the published schedules of the two custodians that reviewers name for it.

Augusta's three figures match Equity Trust's precious-metals schedule line for line (form FS-0004-05, Rev. 081726). That suggests Augusta passes the custodian's fees through at cost. Equity Trust charges $30 per sale, $125 for a transfer out and $250 to close an account. The full Equity Trust precious metals IRA fees include exit charges.

Reviewers disagree on Priority Gold's custodian. Forbes (July 20, 2026) names Equity Trust, while LendEDU (February 9, 2026) names STRATA Trust. So the yearly bill could be $235 to $325.

Priority Gold names no custodian. STRATA Trust charges $150 a year plus $115 for pooled or $175 for segregated storage, as of August 31, 2026. STRATA Trust precious metals IRA fees are set out on its own page.

Both reviewers also report waivers that Priority Gold does not publish. Forbes says it "waives IRA fees for all clients in their first year, provided they meet the $25,000 minimum". LendEDU says first-year administration is covered, and storage from $50,000. Ask for those terms in writing.

What is Augusta's 10-year fee coverage worth?#

Augusta's FAQ says every account receives up to 10 years of custodian and depository fees paid by Augusta, worth up to $2,350 at its listed $235 a year. The FAQ, last updated September 23, 2026, puts it in one line: "Every account also receives up to 10 years of custodian and depository fees paid by Augusta."

The FAQ does not say three things, listed below.

• Conditions: what you must do or invest to get "up to 10 years" in full.
• Setup fee: whether the $50 setup fee is covered.
• Exit fees: whether exit fees are covered. Equity Trust charges $250 to close an account and $125 per transfer out.

With all 10 years paid, Augusta's 10-year account cost falls from $2,680 to $330. That is the $50 setup fee plus $280 in exit fees, if the coverage pays neither.

The widest 10-year gap in account fees between the two companies is then $3,650 minus $330, or $3,320. That equals 3.3 points of markup on a $100,000 order.

Fee coverage is one of the no-fee gold IRA offers in this market. Our analysis of no-fee gold IRA offers shows how these deals compare.

What is Priority Gold's free silver worth?#

Priority Gold's free silver pays off only if the coins you must buy carry a small markup: 17% or less if the full $15,000 came with a $100,000 order. Its special-offers page, read October 2, 2026, says new IRA clients "can receive up to $15,000 in free silver". It adds: "The amount of free silver scales with the size of your investment." A footnote says offers "require a minimum qualifying investment" and "may not be combined with other promotions". Offers are also "subject to change or cancellation without notice".

The spread is the gap between what you pay and what a dealer would pay you back. The bid is the price a dealer pays you. The table below shows what five orders would sell for on the day you buy.

Table T3: Hypothetical, not a quote from Priority Gold. Assumptions: plain bullion at a 5% spread; bonus silver at a 20% spread; sale at the industry template bid (95.3125% of dealer cost). Priority Gold's tiers are not published, so both order sizes are assumptions.

Augusta's coverage is worth up to $2,350 in bills you do not pay. Priority Gold's silver is worth up to about $11,438 if you receive the full amount. Neither page publishes the conditions.

A bonus is paid for out of the price of what you buy. Under the Federal Trade Commission's guide, 16 CFR 251.1(b)(1), an item is "free" only if the price of the item you must buy is not raised to cover it. How free silver gold IRA promotions are paid for is explained step by step.

The markup: Priority Gold states ranges, Augusta publishes none#

Priority Gold's catalog states premium ranges for plain bullion, 2% to 7% over spot, and Augusta's website states no markup at all, as of October 2026. The spot price is the market price of raw metal. The premium over spot is what a coin or bar costs above that. Bullion means plain bars and coins priced close to their metal value.

Priority Gold's catalog FAQ, read October 2, 2026, says: "Generic LBMA gold bars carry the lowest premium - usually 2-4% over spot." It adds that standard bullion coins "typically run 4-7% over spot". Proof coins, specially struck collector versions of a coin, carry "significantly higher premiums". The catalog shows no dollar prices and says "Call us for a live quote".

In dollars, $100,000 at 2%, 4% or 7% over spot buys $98,039, $96,154 or $93,458 of metal.

Augusta's FAQ, last updated September 23, 2026, says prices are "determined and controlled by Augusta in its sole discretion". It also says "No additional commission is added to prices listed by Augusta". That does not mean there is no markup: the dealer's margin sits inside the listed price.

Money.com's April 2026 review reports margins "as high as 14.5%" on common bullion and "generally 29%" on premium products at Augusta. We could not confirm these in Augusta's documents.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said in release 8215-20 (August 4, 2020) that bullion typically sells 5% to 10% over spot. It put numismatic coins at 40% to 200%. The table below shows what three spreads do to a $100,000 order.

Table T4: Illustration using the industry buyback template (the dealer bid is about 4.7% below its cost). Spread here means the share of your purchase price above the dealer's cost. Not a quote from either company.

Your first statement shows this cost on paper. Equity Trust's Precious Metals Risk and Fee Disclosure, read September 29, 2026, says statement values "do not include any markups, commissions or premiums from the precious metals dealer". Augusta's FAQ says custodians use "standardized melt-value calculations".

Our explainer on gold IRA markups and spreads shows how to get the number in writing.

How much must gold rise to cover the markup?#

At a 15% spread, gold must rise about 23% before a same-day sale gets your money back; at a 35% spread, about 61%. Spread here is the share of your purchase price above the dealer's cost, as in the table above. The formula in words: take 1 minus the spread, multiply by 0.953, divide 1 by the result, then subtract 1.

A markup counted over the dealer's cost is a smaller spread: 15% over cost is a 13.0% spread and needs about 20.7%. Nobody can tell you when, or whether, gold rises that much.

Minimum Investment: $50,000 at Augusta vs $10,000 at Priority Gold#

Augusta requires at least $50,000 for a first purchase, and Priority Gold's own FAQ says its minimum is typically $10,000 for IRAs, as of October 2026. Augusta's FAQ, last updated September 23, 2026, sets "a minimum initial purchase of $50,000 for both cash (non-IRA) and IRA purchases".

Priority Gold's reviews page FAQ, read October 2, 2026, says: "Our minimum investment is typically $5,000 for cash purchases and $10,000 for IRAs". It adds that this "may vary based on product selection and account type".

Four sources state Priority Gold's minimum in four ways, as the table below shows. We list gold IRA minimums by company for every firm we track.

Table T5: Four statements about Priority Gold's minimum. Augusta's FAQ gives one figure: $50,000.

The IRS sets no minimum; these are company rules. Augusta's affiliate contract, read September 29, 2026, pays referral sites only for leads "with at least $50,000 that can be rolled over". That matches its minimum.

What the minimum means for fee drag#

At Priority Gold's $10,000 figure, yearly custodian fees of $235 to $325 take 2.35% to 3.25% of the account, while Augusta's listed $235 takes 0.47% of $50,000. Fee drag is the share of your account the yearly fees take. The table below shows fee drag at four account sizes and fee levels.

Table: Fee drag from published custodian schedules, as of October 2, 2026, before any promotion.

The fee is flat, so the drag comes from the account size, not from the company. On the same custodian schedule, a $50,000 account pays the same 0.47% with either company. On the other three schedules it pays 0.53% to 0.65%. At $10,000, the other two schedules give 2.65% (STRATA Trust pooled, $265) and 2.85% (Equity Trust segregated, $285).

Both minimums are far above one year of contributions. The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500, plus $1,100 at age 50 or older (IRS Notice 2025-67). So $50,000 equals 5.8 years of maximum age-50+ contributions, and $10,000 equals 1.2 years. In practice, both accounts are opened with a rollover or transfer. Firms that take smaller accounts are compared in best gold IRA companies for small investors.

Less than $10,000? A gold ETF usually costs less#

With less than $10,000, neither company's stated minimum is met, and a gold ETF in an existing IRA usually costs less per year. A gold ETF is a fund that holds gold and trades like a stock. Three large ones charge 0.10% (GLDM), 0.25% (IAU) and 0.40% (GLD) a year, as of September 29, 2026. On $10,000 that is $10 to $40 a year, against $235 to $325 in custodian fees. The costs are set out in gold IRA vs gold ETF.

Buyback and Cancellation: What Each Company Puts in Writing#

Neither Augusta nor Priority Gold promises a buyback price, but each publishes different pieces: Augusta a 7-day cancellation window, Priority Gold a buy-back policy with an 18% consignment fee. Both were read on October 2, 2026. Why does the written wording matter more than the sales call? Disputes are decided on the signed documents, and neither company publishes the agreement you sign.

Buyback wording: "cannot legally guarantee" vs "cannot promise you a set price"#

Augusta's FAQ says it cannot legally guarantee a buyback, and Priority Gold's policy says it cannot promise a set price but can promise a market. A buyback is the company buying your coins back when you want cash. The wholesale bid is what a large dealer pays. Liquidation means selling the metal for cash. The table below quotes each company.

Table T7: Buyback wording in each company's own words.

Priority Gold's three avenues are a sale you make on the open market, a sale to Priority Gold at the wholesale bid, and consignment. Our guide to buyback prices and custodian fees when you sell explains the bid.

Augusta's statement about the law is common. The contracts of American Hartford Gold, Lear Capital, Preserve Gold, Goldline and American Bullion say the same. Other firms' wording is in gold IRA buyback programs compared.

Ask each company what it would pay today for the exact coins it wants to sell you.

Priority Gold's 18% consignment fee on numismatic coins, costed#

Priority Gold charges an 18% consignment fee to resell investment-grade or numismatic coins for you, and only after you have held them 60 months. A numismatic coin is a coin priced for rarity or condition, not only for its metal. The buy-back policy, read October 2, 2026, limits consignment to products "bought from Priority Gold" and "held for 60 months or longer". It states: "Priority Gold has a consignment fee of 18% to find and secure another buyer."

The table below prices three ways out of a $100,000 purchase.

Table: Hypothetical. The 35% spread is an assumption, not a Priority Gold figure. The 18% fee is from Priority Gold's buy-back policy.

The retail price must rise 21.95% for consignment to return your $100,000.

Augusta publishes no fee or formula for reselling premium coins. Its FAQ says low-mintage products cost more to acquire, and that their resale value depends partly on demand for the product. So only Priority Gold publishes a resale cost for collector coins, and that cost is high. The sales pattern behind these coins is covered in numismatic coin upsells.

Cancellation windows: 7 calendar days vs 3 business days to 15 days by state#

Augusta's FAQ gives up to 7 calendar days to cancel, and Priority Gold's refund page sets a window by state, from 3 business days to 15 days. A calendar day counts weekends, and a business day does not. Augusta's FAQ, last updated September 23, 2026, offers "a cancellation period of up to seven calendar days after the date a transaction is confirmed". It applies to "all transactions", and longer where state law requires.

Augusta's policy text on its BBB profile, read September 29, 2026, is narrower. It covers "first-time customers" and "premium gold and silver coin transactions". It adds: "All subsequent orders are final upon completion of the recorded confirmation call." Which text applies is not stated, and the Transaction Agreement is not public.

Priority Gold's refund page lists 37 states and Guam, grouped in the table below.

Table T6: Priority Gold's listed cancellation windows by state, read October 2, 2026. Augusta's FAQ: up to 7 calendar days in every state. * First-time buyers only. † Only for sales that began with a phone call or a visit the buyer did not start (Kentucky: "an unsolicited telephone call"; Ohio: "a telephone solicitation"; Virginia: solicited at a residence). Guam: 30 days. Arkansas excludes Sundays and holidays. New Hampshire and New Mexico count from the invoice date. Alabama, Alaska, Florida and Louisiana also list a refund, with no time limit stated, if goods are "defective, not as represented, or not received as promised".

Priority Gold's listed window is shorter than Augusta's 7 days in 13 states, the same in 13 and longer in 10. Kentucky's 14 days apply only to unsolicited calls, and Nevada's 30 days cover only defective or misdescribed goods. The unlisted states include Texas, Priority Gold's home state. If your state is not listed, Priority Gold's page gives no window. That does not mean you have no right; ask what the Customer Agreement gives you.

The start of the clock differs too. For IRA metal sent to a vault, Priority Gold's page says receipt "is considered to occur on the date that Priority issues a notice of transfer to Customer". That holds "regardless of when Customer obtains actual knowledge of receipt". A notice of transfer is the message that your metal was moved to the vault.

Under 26 CFR 1.408-6, you have at least 7 days to revoke a new IRA, which means to cancel it. That right runs against the custodian, not the dealer. Our page on how to cancel a gold IRA separates the IRS right from the dealer's terms.

Contracts, custodians and depositories#

Neither Augusta nor Priority Gold publishes the agreement you sign, so the terms that decide disputes cannot be read before you call. Augusta's old agreement page showed "This form is no longer available." on September 29, 2026. Its FAQ says: "Before any purchase, Augusta provides a written Transaction Agreement".

Priority Gold's refund page refers to "Priority's Customer Agreement", which is not on its site. The page says: "YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PAY ANY MONEY UNLESS YOU SIGN THE CUSTOMER AGREEMENT". Ask each company to email the agreement before you move any money.

The refund page adds one more line: "Neither Priority's Customer Agreement nor these State-specific policies disclaim oral representations where statutes disallow such disclaimers."

Our table of gold IRA company contracts compared shows the clauses at firms that do publish them.

Priority Gold's disclaimer page, read September 29, 2026, adds two terms. It allows no refunds "other than counterfeit coins returned in their original holders within ninety (90) days of purchase". It also tells buyers to hold "at least a three to five-year period, and preferably five to ten years".

One edge case sits with the custodian, not the dealer. Augusta's FAQ names Equity Trust, and Equity Trust's Custodial Account Agreement (Art. XVIII) requires individual arbitration, a private hearing instead of court. You can opt out, meaning refuse that clause, within 65 days of opening the account, as of September 29, 2026.

Both companies name Delaware Depository, Augusta as the vault it "recommends" and Priority Gold as one of three it typically uses. Its $1 billion all-risk insurance pays metal value, not the premiums you paid. It excludes war, terrorism, cyber events and confiscation, as of September 29, 2026. Delaware Depository storage and insurance terms are on its own page.

Complaints, Lawsuits and Regulatory Records Compared#

Augusta has 1 BBB complaint closed in three years and Priority Gold has 38, and we found no regulator action against either company. Both counts are as of October 2, 2026. A docket summary also shows one individual's case against Priority Gold sent to private arbitration.

The Priority Gold complaints, lawsuits and BBB record page lists each item.

BBB and Trustpilot: 1 vs 38 complaints in three years#

Priority Gold's BBB record shows 5.9 complaints per 100 reviews and Augusta's 0.7, as of October 2, 2026. That ratio is complaint density: complaints closed in three years per 100 BBB reviews. The table below shows both companies' records.

Table T8: BBB records read October 2, 2026 (Priority Gold's Beverly Hills profile: September 29, 2026). Trustpilot read September 29, 2026.

Priority Gold's density is about 8 times Augusta's. The table below sets both beside six other large sellers.

Table: Complaint density at eight large gold IRA sellers, as of September 29, 2026 (Augusta and Priority Gold re-read October 2, 2026).

Priority Gold ranks third of the eight, far below Lear Capital and American Hartford Gold. Augusta is the lowest.

Of Priority Gold's 38 complaints, 13 closed in the last 12 months. By type, 17 (44.7%) concern the product and 8 concern service or repair. Five concern sales and advertising, 3 customer service, 3 delivery, 1 billing and 1 an order. The BBB marks 32 as resolved and 6 as answered, as of September 29, 2026. None went unanswered.

Priority Gold's reviews page also cites "AAA from the Business Consumer Alliance" (BCA), read October 2, 2026. The BCA is a private nonprofit funded mainly by member dues, and it does not publish its grading formula.

The BBB does not say why Priority Gold has two profiles with different accreditation status.

Three caveats apply. Counts grow with sales volume, and neither company publishes its volume. Arbitration keeps serious disputes out of public view. The BBB counts only closed complaints.

In the BBB's method, 90 of 100 points relate to complaints, and reviews are not used. Five-star shares on Trustpilot run from 89% to 99% across the ten largest sellers, as of September 29, 2026. Why star ratings barely separate these firms is covered in BBB, BCA and Trustpilot ratings.

Lawsuits: one arbitration order for Priority Gold, two business disputes for Augusta#

A docket summary shows a Texas court sent one individual's case against Priority Gold to private arbitration in February 2026. Court indexes list two business disputes involving Augusta. Three terms help here. A docket is the court's list of filings. An allegation is a claim nobody has proven. Abated means paused. The table below lists the four cases.

Table T10: Court records for Augusta and Priority Gold, as of October 2, 2026.

According to the docket as summarized by Trellis, the court granted Priority Gold's motion to compel arbitration in Hamilton (No. 493-08644-2025) on February 19, 2026. The case was abated, and a trial set for September 21, 2026 was canceled. What the plaintiff alleged is not in the summary we read; no court has ruled on it. SafeOunce has not read the court record itself.

One inference, labelled as such: the order suggests Priority Gold's Customer Agreement contains an arbitration clause.

For Augusta, court indexes list Westwood One, LLC v. Augusta Precious Metals, Inc. and Orion Precious Metals, Inc. v. Augusta. SafeOunce has not read either docket: outcome not found. Neither is a customer case. Details sit on Augusta Precious Metals complaints and lawsuits.

Both companies appear in a third case, as non-parties. In Orion Precious Metals v. Money Group, LLC (C.D. Cal. No. 2:26-cv-07092, filed June 29, 2026), Orion alleges that money.com is "paid by these companies to rank their businesses as a top choice". The complaint also names American Hartford Gold, Goldco and Thor Metals Group. The case is pending, with no ruling known.

Regulator actions: none found for either company#

We found no CFTC, SEC, FTC or state regulator action against Augusta Precious Metals or Priority Gold in searches on September 29, 2026. We searched CFTC press releases, SEC litigation releases, FTC cases and California's financial regulator, the DFPI. We also searched the Texas and California attorney general and securities sites. The sweep does not cover all 50 states. Every case we track is in our list of gold IRA enforcement actions.

One name can mislead: a DFPI consent order against "Priority Wealth Advisors, Inc." concerns a different firm. For context, the last new CFTC complaint against a retail metals dealer that we found, through September 25, 2026, was against Regal Assets. It was filed September 27, 2023 (CFTC release 8791-23).

Marketing claims vs the record: awards, accreditation, Krugerrands and "IRS-approved"#

Both companies' websites contain claims that the underlying record does not support, from an award date to which coins an IRA may hold. The table below lists seven.

Table T9: Marketing claims vs the record, with the date each was read.

The Krugerrand row matters most for your money. Federal law allows two routes into an IRA: named US coins, or bullion of at least .995 gold. Priority Gold's catalog labels a coin that meets neither. Why the coin fails is explained in Krugerrands in an IRA.

Both sites also get rules right. Priority Gold's catalog gives the correct bullion fineness and marks pre-1933 US gold as not IRA-eligible. Augusta's FAQ correctly says IRA metal cannot be kept at home (McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10, 2021).

What the IRS list does and does not cover is on IRS-approved gold IRA custodians.

Augusta or Priority Gold: Which Company Fits Your Situation?#

Neither company is better for everyone: the right one depends on how much you are moving, which coins you buy and what you can get in writing. The table below matches 10 reader situations to the fact that decides each one, as of October 2, 2026.

Table T11: Verdict by reader situation, from company pages, BBB records and court indexes, as of October 2, 2026.

SafeOunce scores companies only on documents and written quotes. We hold neither company's purchase agreement and no written quote from either. So both carry a provisional result, not a full score, and we name no overall winner. The scoring rules are in how SafeOunce rates gold IRA companies.

Each company publishes something the other does not: Augusta its account fees, Priority Gold its resale fee and state notices. Neither publishes a price per coin.

If you are asking which precious metals IRA companies are the best overall, our ranked list is on best gold IRA companies.

What Should You Ask Augusta or Priority Gold Before You Sign?#

Ask both companies the same six questions in writing, on the same day, before you move any retirement money. The six questions are listed below.

1. Ask for the price of each coin and its percent over spot.
2. Ask what the company would pay you for the same coins today.
3. Ask for every yearly and exit fee, which custodian charges them and which ones any promotion pays.
4. Ask for the cancellation window in your state, when it starts and whether it covers bullion.
5. Ask for the agreement by email before you pay, and whether it requires arbitration.
6. Ask for the minimum and the free-silver or fee-coverage conditions that apply to your order size.

All 12 questions are in how to choose a gold IRA company.

Federal law backs the first question. The Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.3(a)(1)(i), requires a telemarketer to disclose the total cost before you pay.

Put both written quotes side by side in our gold IRA company comparison tool.

SafeOunce takes no money from any company named on this page.

How are review sites paid to recommend Augusta or Priority Gold?#

Augusta publishes what it pays referral sites: 8% of the premium-coin value of an order, nothing on bullion, plus $200 per qualified lead. Priority Gold publishes no amounts. Augusta's affiliate terms, read September 29, 2026, say the "Premium Trade Value" is "determined by Augusta". They add: "Our ideal customer is between the ages of 55 and 75."

Priority Gold runs its program on Everflow, an affiliate tracking platform, with terms dated "05.01.2026". Its website terms say people who give testimonials "MAY be affiliated with COMPANY as Marketing Affiliates". Many review pages are paid when you contact a company. We explain the whole system in are gold IRA reviews paid.

The table below shows site pay on a $100,000 and a $50,000 Augusta order.

Table: Referral pay computed from apmaffiliates.com terms (September 29, 2026). Assumes the Premium Trade Value equals the order amount.

On September 29, 2026, Money's paid "Our Partner" block listed Priority Gold third and Augusta fourth. On Money's editorial list, Augusta is the #2 pick and Priority Gold is not a pick.

The only ranking page that compares these two companies says its owners "might receive compensation", and it names Augusta the winner. Our own rules are on who pays SafeOunce.

Who endorses Augusta and Priority Gold?#

Augusta's own press releases from 2020 name Joe Montana as its ambassador, and Priority Gold's website calls Robert Kiyosaki its "Official Partner", as of October 2026. Montana was named in 2020; neither release discloses pay. Priority Gold's page calls Kiyosaki "A real financial voice, not a paid actor." That phrase does not say he is unpaid. Endorsers with a business tie fall under 16 CFR Part 255. Who is paid by whom is listed under celebrity gold IRA endorsements.

How do Augusta and Priority Gold compare with other gold IRA companies?#

Each company has its own head-to-head pages against the other large gold IRA sellers. The six pages are listed below.

• Augusta Precious Metals vs Goldco
• Goldco vs Priority Gold
• Augusta Precious Metals vs American Hartford Gold
• Augusta Precious Metals vs Birch Gold Group
• Lear Capital vs Priority Gold
• Noble Gold Investments vs Priority Gold

Company pairs and comparisons with ETFs and other accounts are collected under gold IRA comparisons.

What kind of company is Priority Gold?#

Priority Gold is a precious metals dealer, Priority Gold LLC of Dallas, Texas, that sells coins and bars and arranges self-directed IRAs through outside custodians, as of October 2026. It is not a custodian and not a bank. The BBB lists a business start of November 27, 2001. It is not Sky Priority, Citi Priority or Priority Wealth Advisors.

Is Priority Gold a good place to buy gold?#

Priority Gold is an operating dealer with an A+ BBB grade, 38 complaints closed in three years and no regulator action found. The BBB record is as of October 2, 2026, and the regulator searches ran on September 29, 2026. It publishes no price per coin and no fee schedule, so whether it suits you depends on the written quote. Everything else is in our Priority Gold review 2026.

Which of the two has the better reviews?#

Priority Gold scores 4.9 on Trustpilot from 380 reviews and Augusta 4.8 from 372, as of September 29, 2026, and both invite customers to review. Star scores barely separate gold IRA sellers. The BBB complaint count separates these two more: 1 vs 38. Our full take on Augusta Precious Metals reviews is on the review page.

Why does Dave Ramsey say not to invest in gold?#

Dave Ramsey argues that gold produces no income and has trailed stocks over long periods, a point that applies to both companies' products equally. The argument is set out in why Dave Ramsey and Warren Buffett say no to gold.

Can you move from Priority Gold to Augusta later?#

Yes: metals can move between IRA custodians in kind through a trustee-to-trustee transfer, but each custodian charges exit fees. Augusta's $50,000 minimum applies to a first purchase, so ask whether it takes metal bought elsewhere. In kind means the metal moves without being sold. A transfer is not a rollover: no 60-day clock, no once-per-year limit and no tax withholding (IRS Publication 590-A). Equity Trust charges $125 per transfer out and $250 to close; STRATA Trust charges $250. Steps and costs are in switching gold IRA custodians or companies.