Best Gold IRA Custodians 2026: 9 Ranked by 10-Year Cost, Exit Fees and Record (21 Checked)

The best gold IRA custodians by 10-year cost on $100,000 are GoldStar Trust ($2,410), Equity Trust's metals-only schedule ($2,680) and STRATA Trust ($3,050), as of September 29, 2026. These totals use each custodian's own published fees, and the most expensive of the 9 we could rank costs up to $8,809. So how were they ranked, and which one fits your account?

A custodian is the bank or trust company that legally holds your IRA and pays the dealer for your metal. Commingled storage means your coins sit with the same coins of other owners but stay recorded as yours. Segregated storage means your exact coins and bars are kept apart.

The ranking shows how the order shifts at $50,000 and $250,000 and why 12 others could not be ranked. Then come the test every custodian must pass, the best fit for 10 situations and the top 3 up close. The last sections cover the cost to leave, who picks your custodian, 5 limits and 6 things to get in writing.

Gold IRA companies sell the metal, and the custodian holds the account. This page ranks custodians only; the sellers of the metal are ranked separately in best gold IRA companies. No custodian can pay for its place on this list.

The table below lists the 9 ranked custodians by their cheapest published option, as of September 29, 2026.

10-year cost = setup, first purchase fee, 10 yearly fees and the cost to sell and close, with the gold price flat. Published schedules read September 29, 2026; the full table follows below.

The SafeOunce Custodian Ranking: 9 Gold IRA Custodians by 10-Year Cost at $100,000#

GoldStar Trust costs least to hold a $100,000 gold IRA for 10 years: $2,410 with shared storage, per its fee schedule read September 29, 2026. Of the 21 custodians we checked, 8 publish full prices, including storage. Entrust is also ranked, on an assumed $125 a year of storage, because its vault bills storage separately.

The 10-year cost is everything the custodian and the vault charge over 10 years, including the cost to leave. Each figure comes from a fee schedule, the custodian's price list, which always carries a revision date. Two names on the list are administrators, front offices that are not the legal custodian: uDirect IRA and Accuplan both use American Estate & Trust in Nevada.

Gold IRA custodians hold the account, and a depository holds the metal for them. What each of the 21 gold IRA custodians does is explained in gold IRA custodians.

The full table shows every storage option of the 9 custodians, with the schedule each number comes from.

The math rests on plain assumptions. You buy once in year 1 and hold for 10 years while the gold price stays flat. Fees are paid in cash, and the exit counts the items in the "Exit counted" column. Dealer spreads are left out, because the custodian does not set them.

Two rows carry labels. The Entrust row assumes $125 a year of storage; its Delaware forms (Rev. 3/7/2024) show $100 shared and $150 segregated. The Accuplan row is an upper bound, since its middle storage tiers are unpublished.

The exit items differ by row, as the "Exit counted" column shows. Counting a wire at every custodian would add $30 at Equity Trust and $35 at STRATA, and the order would not change.

Does the order hold if you want your own coins kept separate? Yes, at the top: on $100,000 over 10 years, Equity Trust segregated costs $3,180, GoldStar segregated $3,410 and STRATA segregated $3,650. Forge ($6,240) and Directed ($7,225) cost about twice as much for segregated storage.

How the gold IRA custodian ranking changes at $50,000 and $250,000 in fees#

The top 3 hold their places at $50,000 and $250,000, but value-based custodians such as uDirect and Accuplan move up on small accounts and down on large ones. A flat fee is the same dollar amount at any balance. A value-based fee is a percentage of what your metal is worth, so it rises when gold rises. A crossover is the balance where two custodians cost the same.

The table shows each option's 10-year cost at three balances, from the same schedules read September 29, 2026.

GoldStar's segregated fee is the big change above about $130,000. Its schedule (GTC Rev. 01/2026) charges $225 up to $125,000 of metal, plus $1.80 for each $1,000 above that, or 0.18%. So GoldStar segregated matches STRATA segregated ($325 a year) at $130,556 and costs $540 a year at $250,000. Above $125,000, ask GoldStar to confirm that fee in writing. Put your own balance into the gold IRA fee calculator to see your gold IRA fee at any size.

GoldStar segregated is never cheaper than Equity Trust segregated. Its lowest yearly total is $315, at least $30 more than Equity Trust's flat $285 a year at any balance, as of September 2026.

Small accounts reshuffle the bottom of the list. At $50,000, uDirect ($5,525) costs less than Directed ($6,250) and Madison ($6,910), and Accuplan's yearly fees are below Directed's under $48,010. At $250,000, uDirect climbs to $11,775 and Accuplan to up to $16,309.45.

Entrust drops a place if you own more than one asset type, meaning each product and year you hold. Two coin years, such as 2025 and 2026 Gold Eagles, raise its yearly fee from $219 to $329 plus 0.17% above $50,000 (Rev. 01/09/2026). On $100,000 that makes $5,690 over 10 years, behind Forge's $5,340.

On yearly fees, Forge and Directed swap places at $475,000 of metal. Below that Forge costs less; above it, Directed's 0.08% storage wins. Directed also has a fee cliff: its yearly fee jumps from $495 at $1,999,999 to $795 at $2,000,000 (2026 schedule). Why the order flips with flat and scaled fees is explained in flat vs scaled gold IRA fees.

Why 12 other custodians are not ranked: unpublished storage fees, closures and no metals#

Twelve custodians are left out of the ranking because 9 do not publish what storage costs and 3 do not offer metals IRAs under their own name. Kingdom Trust and Midland Trust no longer exist as custodians, and Mainstar Trust no longer markets precious metals on its 2026 site.

The table shows what we found for each one as of September 29, 2026, and what to ask before you sign.

A custodian that does not publish its storage price can still serve you well, but you need a written storage quote to compare it. What the vaults themselves charge for storage is in gold IRA storage fees.

Former Midland clients face a trap. They were moved to Equity Trust on July 15, 2024 by negative consent, which means you are treated as agreeing unless you object in time. Equity Trust's institutional schedule then defaults to Option 1, $350 a year per metals asset. Three products cost $1,050 a year, against $425 on Option 2 at $45,000 to $59,999.

Old names still appear on 2026 "best custodian" lists: Kingdom Trust, Midland and Millennium Trust. Millennium Trust is the former name of Inspira Financial Trust. Inspira became the successor custodian, the company that takes over your account when a custodian quits, for Quest Trust on September 3, 2024 and NuView on November 1, 2024. Kingdom Trust clients kept their metal in the same vaults under Digital Trust.

Two more names cause confusion. IRA Services Trust is now Forge Trust, and Preservation Trust is not a metals IRA custodian.

How SafeOunce Ranks Gold IRA Custodians: 1 Gate and 6 Checks#

SafeOunce ranks gold IRA custodians by one number, the 10-year cost of holding $100,000 on the custodian's own published schedule. First, a custodian must pass one gate: it must be a bank or state-supervised trust company that takes metals accounts. It must also publish its fees and a storage price (for Entrust, the vault's rate forms). That number is the first of six checks; the other five are shown beside it, not scored.

Custodians get no score. Gold companies are scored on 7 criteria in how SafeOunce rates gold IRA companies; custodians get this simpler test.

"IRS-approved custodian" is a sales phrase, not a fact. The IRS approves only nonbank trustees: companies that are not banks and apply to the IRS itself under Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e). Its nonbank trustee list has 73 names as of April 1, 2026. The only metals business on it is Lone Star Tangible Assets, LP, approved November 30, 2023.

None of the 9 ranked custodians is on that IRS list. They are state-chartered trust companies (Directed's regulator per company statements) or, for GoldStar, a bank division, as the table above shows. How to check a charter yourself is on our page about "IRS-approved gold IRA custodians".

The six checks are listed below, with their sources.

1. 10-year cost at $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000. This is the ranking number, taken from the custodian's own schedule and its revision date.
2. Per-trade fees. These run from $0 to $130 per purchase or sale as of September 2026, from the same schedules.
3. Cost to leave. Termination, transfer-out and in-kind fees, also from the schedules.
4. Depositories and storage types. Commingled, segregated and segregated silver, from custodian and vault pages.
5. Complaint pattern. What 1-star reviews and BBB complaints are about, not the star average.
6. Legal record and contract terms. Court and regulator actions, arbitration, liability caps, forced-sale clauses and ownership changes, from court records and custodial agreements.

The custodian choice moves the 10-year cost on $100,000 by up to about $6,400, from $2,410 at GoldStar to up to $8,809 at Accuplan. The dealer's product moves it far more. With plain bullion and a low-cost custodian, 10 years cost about $8,580. At a 39.99% spread, the cap one gold company's September 2026 contract sets for semi-numismatic coins, the total is about $45,983.

The spread is the gap between what you pay the dealer and what the metal is worth. The $1,240 gap between GoldStar commingled ($2,410) and STRATA segregated ($3,650) equals only about 1.2 points of spread on $100,000. In metal, $2,410 is about 0.58 oz of gold and $6,910 about 1.67 oz, at the LBMA PM price of $4,144.55 on September 28, 2026. Why the dealer spread is the bigger cost is explained in gold IRA markups and spreads.

Why BBB grades and star ratings do not decide the order#

No: a BBB grade mostly measures how a custodian answers complaints, so Equity Trust holds an A+ with 139 complaints while Kingdom Trust has a C+ with 7. Both counts are complaints closed in 3 years, as of September 29, 2026. A BBB grade is a letter grade about how a business handles complaints, not how many it gets or what it charges.

Under BBB's rules, 90 of 100 positive points relate to complaints: volume 15, unanswered 40, unresolved 30 and delayed 5. Reviews are not scored, and an A+ means 97 to 100 points. So an A+ says nothing about fair prices. Inspira Financial holds an A with 526 complaints closed in 3 years, as of September 29, 2026.

BBB and Trustpilot profiles read September 29, 2026.

Star ratings have their own weak spot. Very high five-star shares that name individual staff suggest the reviews were requested. That is why the ranking looks at what 1-star reviews complain about, not at the average. What each of these ratings proves is set out in BBB, BCA and Trustpilot ratings.

Best Gold IRA Custodian for Your Situation: 10 Reader Situations#

The best gold IRA custodian depends on three things, in this order: shared or separate storage, your balance, and how soon you might leave. With $25,000 to $100,000 in shared storage, the lowest published yearly cost is $215 to $265 as of September 2026.

Three terms appear in the table. Arbitration means a private arbitrator, not a court, decides a dispute. An opt-out is a letter you send to keep your right to go to court. At Entrust, an asset type is each product and year you own, so 2025 and 2026 Gold Eagles count as two.

The table matches 10 common situations with the custodians whose published numbers fit best, as of September 29, 2026.

Per-trade fees matter most if you buy often. Twelve purchases a year cost $900 at STRATA ($75 each) and $1,560 at New Direction ($130 each).

Two rows need a word of caution. Gold companies use Equity Trust's metals-only schedule, and whether direct clients can get it is not established, so ask before you apply. Forge's and uDirect's live fee pages were blocked on September 29, 2026, so those numbers come from archived copies.

The Top 3 Gold IRA Custodians Up Close: GoldStar, Equity Trust and STRATA#

GoldStar, Equity Trust and STRATA are the three lowest-cost gold IRA custodians in 2026, within $640 of each other over 10 years on $100,000. Each has one catch worth knowing before you sign. They are also the custodians that 9 of the 13 gold companies in our dealer map name.

The gold IRA custodian fees below come from each schedule's current revision. Every fee line in 12 custodian schedules is in gold IRA custodian fees.

1. GoldStar Trust: lowest shared-storage cost, segregated fees rise above $125,000#

GoldStar Trust has the lowest yearly cost for shared storage, $215 at any balance, and charges nothing to buy or sell metal, per its fee schedule GTC Rev. 01/2026.

GoldStar bills on the anniversary of your opening date and does not prorate. Fee changes take effect 30 days after notice. Its depository choices and every fee line are in the full GoldStar Trust review.

The main catch is the role GoldStar takes. Its schedule says "GoldStar is not a 'fiduciary' with respect to your IRA" (Part 4). A fiduciary is someone legally bound to act in your interest.

Segregated storage above $125,000 is the other point to watch. The schedule adds "$1.80 per $1000 of precious metals value greater than $125,000 (18 basis points)" to the $225 minimum. A basis point is one hundredth of 1%, so 18 basis points is 0.18% a year. That fee grows with your metal's value, which is why GoldStar segregated costs $540 a year at $250,000.

2. Equity Trust (metals-only schedule): lowest flat segregated price, with an arbitration clause#

Equity Trust's metals-only schedule charges a flat $285 a year for segregated storage at any balance, the lowest flat segregated price published as of September 2026. The price holds only if you get that schedule, not its direct Universal IRA, which costs $660 a year at $50,000 (Rev. 110625).

The same custodian has more than one price. At $50,000, the direct Universal IRA costs $375 a year more than the metals-only schedule, or $3,750 over 10 years. At $250,000 the gap is $875 a year ($285 vs $1,160), or $8,750. If you opened directly before August 2024, check whether you are on the legacy retail schedule (FS-0001-03 Rev. 081726, $225 to $2,250 a year by value). All four Equity Trust schedules are compared in the Equity Trust review.

The catch is an arbitration clause. Article XVIII of the Custodial Account Agreement requires individual arbitration and waives class actions unless you opt out "within 65 days of opening my Account." In Clark v. Equity Trust (D.N.M. 1:24-cv-00845, October 29, 2024), a customer with a $200,000 unfilled Oxford Gold order was sent to arbitration because she had not opted out.

A billing trap applies too. Equity Trust bills at your first deposit and each January, without prorating, so an account funded in December pays twice within weeks.

Oxford Gold customers also filed a class action against Equity Trust on August 9, 2024 (Short v. Equity Trust, C.D. Cal. 2:24-cv-06788); its claims are allegations.

3. STRATA Trust: flat yearly price, but $75 every time you buy or sell#

STRATA Trust charges a flat $265 a year with shared storage and $325 segregated, but adds $75 each time you buy or sell. Those prices come from its fee page, modified August 31, 2026.

A depository handling fee is the vault's charge for receiving or releasing your metal, which STRATA passes on to you. STRATA bills on your opening anniversary and does not prorate. Every fee line is in the STRATA Trust review.

The catch is the per-trade fee. A yearly Roth contribution of $8,600, the 2026 limit at age 50 and over (IRS Notice 2025-67), loses 0.87% to the $75 fee each time. The flat yearly price does help large segregated accounts: STRATA segregated costs less than GoldStar segregated above $130,556.

STRATA was the named custodian in Texas State Securities Board orders against the dealer GSI Exchange (ENF-21-CDO-1844, July 22, 2021; ENF-23-CDO-1875, September 15, 2023). The orders, entered with no admission, are against the dealer, not STRATA.

What It Costs to Leave a Gold IRA Custodian: Exit Fees From $150 to $500#

Leaving a gold IRA custodian costs $150 to $500 in closing fees at the 12 metals custodians we priced in 2026, from GoldStar's $150 to Horizon's $500. A direct custodian-to-custodian transfer of the metal itself keeps you invested and avoids paying a dealer's spread twice.

Moving in kind means moving the coins and bars themselves, not cash. A termination fee is the charge to close the account. A transfer out is the custodian-to-custodian move. Equity Trust lists a $125 transfer-out fee; whether it is charged on top of the $250 termination fee on one full in-kind exit is not established.

The table lists what 12 custodians charge to move your metal in kind and close, and to sell and close, from their schedules as of September 29, 2026.

Two numbers carry a caution. Equity Trust's "up to $375" counts both its $125 and $250 fees. Whether STRATA's $100 re-registration applies to in-kind metals is also not established. Each line is itemized in gold IRA termination and transfer-out fees.

Selling first can cost less in custodian fees: $280 against up to $375 at Equity Trust, and $325 against up to $385 at STRATA. Madison is the exception, at $330 to sell against $300 in kind. But a sale adds the dealer's buy-back spread, the spread to buy again and time out of metal.

You may be leaving a custodian that is not ranked here. The table shows what 7 of them charge to close, from the schedules dated in each row.

Ask for a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer when you move. IRS Publication 590-A says a transfer, "either at your request or at the trustee's request, isn't a rollover." In plain English: a transfer is not taxed and does not count toward the one-rollover-per-year limit. To move the metal itself, ask for an IRA to gold IRA transfer in kind, not a check.

Timing matters too, because these custodians do not prorate their yearly fees. Prorated means charged only for the part of the period you used. Equity Trust bills each January, so a move in early January can pay a full year for a few weeks.

Forge bills on day 1 of each quarter; one BBB complainant who closed on October 6 was charged the full fourth quarter. GoldStar and STRATA bill on your opening anniversary. Timing a move around these dates is covered in switching gold IRA custodians.

What do 1-star reviews of gold IRA custodians complain about?#

Most 1-star reviews of the top 3 gold IRA custodians are about leaving, not about the metal. Slow transfers, sales and withdrawals plus exit fees make up 14 of 22 at Equity Trust, 14 of 19 at STRATA and 15 of 20 at GoldStar.

We sorted the latest 1-star Trustpilot reviews of each custodian, read September 29, 2026. These are samples of the most recent reviews, not full histories.

At Equity Trust, 2 of the other 8 blame a failed dealer and 1 a forced sale.

Four reviewers put numbers on it. One Equity Trust reviewer reports paying $390 to close a low-balance account ($125 + $250 + $15) on August 28, 2026. Another reports $189,000 of rollover cash delayed 26 days (September 3, 2026). A STRATA reviewer reports $446.57 to close (July 16, 2025), and a GoldStar reviewer reports metal sold to pay more than $2,500 in fees (August 26, 2024).

Inspira Financial shows the same pattern at a larger scale. Of 517 BBB complaints from October 13, 2023 to September 10, 2026, none mention metals. Among its retirement complaints, 67% involve delayed transfers out, 59% ID or login problems and 37% "never opened this account"; one complaint can fall in more than one group.

Can You Choose Your Own Gold IRA Custodian, or Does the Gold Company Pick It?#

Yes, you can choose any custodian that accepts metals, but most gold companies steer you to one of four: Equity Trust, GoldStar, STRATA or New Direction. Ask the company to use the custodian you picked before you sign.

The table shows which custodian 13 gold companies name on their own pages. These are company statements, dated.

Eleven of these 13 companies name one of the same four custodians. Picking your own custodian is a step you take before you open a gold IRA, and the order of steps is in how to open a gold IRA.

A company's "we pay your fees" offer usually works only at its default custodian. U.S. Money Reserve's offer, for example, applies only to Equity Trust accounts. So a paid-fee offer can quietly pick the custodian for you.

Three years of paid fees on $100,000 are worth $755 at Equity Trust to $1,870 at Directed, as of September 2026. That is 8% to 37% of a 5% to 10% dealer spread.

Gold IRA companies differ in how firmly they steer you. Each company's default custodian is listed on its review in gold IRA companies.

Some companies also act for you at the custodian. A designated representative is a person or firm you authorize to give the custodian instructions for you.

Advantage Gold, for example, becomes your designated representative at STRATA by default. Ask who holds that role on your account, and whether and how you can remove it, before you sign.

Two sellers in the table accept any custodian: Blanchard and Silver Gold Bull. Buying from a bullion dealer vs gold IRA company changes who suggests the custodian.

What the Best Gold IRA Custodian Still Does Not Do for You: 5 Limits#

Even the best gold IRA custodian does not vet your dealer, show what you paid, insure your metal, fully answer for its mistakes or need your consent to sell. The 5 limits below come from the custodians' own documents and SEC records.

1. It does not check the dealer or the price. SEC Initial Decision No. 1030 (June 27, 2016) dismissed charges against Equity Trust. A stricter standard "would require custodians to charge much higher fees than did Equity Trust," the decision says. The SEC investor alert adds: "Self-directed IRA custodians generally do not evaluate the quality or legitimacy of any investment." In plain English: checking the dealer is your job.
2. Its statement shows melt value, not what you paid. Melt value is what the metal is worth at the spot price. Equity Trust values metal at "the previous day's metal type value," which "does not include any markups, commissions or premiums." So $50,000 spent at a 10% premium shows about $45,455 at unchanged prices, as explained line by line in gold IRA statement.
3. It does not insure your metal, and neither does the FDIC. FDIC insurance covers only uninvested cash at a bank, up to $250,000 per depositor. SIPC covers securities, not metal. The depository's own policy covers the metal.
4. Its contract limits what you can recover. Directed's documents say it may pay the dealer "before metals physically arrive at the depository." They also cap its liability at "the total fees paid by you to us," bar claims after 2 years and treat a statement as accepted after 60 days. Directed may also receive "affiliate income ... from precious metals dealers," a conflict of interest. Inspira sends claims of $50,000 or more to Chicago and bars claims after 2 years. Equity Trust requires arbitration unless you opt out within 65 days. A depository receipt in your IRA's name proves the metal arrived. How to check that receipt is shown in is your gold really in your IRA.
5. It can sell your metal or change hands without your signature. Equity Trust's disclosure lets it "liquidate your precious metals assets to pay any fees due and owing ... and force distribute any remaining assets." A forced liquidation is a sale the custodian makes without asking you, usually for unpaid fees. New Direction may close the account and report it on Form 1099, and Provident may sell for fees "plus one year's estimated fees." Midland clients were moved to Equity Trust by negative consent on July 15, 2024, so their silence counted as agreement.

Idle cash earns the custodian money, too. GoldStar keeps the spread on cash swept to Happy State Bank; a sweep account is the bank account where your IRA's uninvested cash is parked. New Direction keeps all income on undirected cash. Required minimum cash runs from $250 (Equity Trust institutional accounts, as of September 2026) to $750 (American IRA, latest readable schedule of November 14, 2024). At an illustrative 4% yield, $500 of required cash forgoes about $20 a year.

Keep only the cash your fees need. If your custodian quits or is sold, see what happens to your gold IRA if your custodian quits.

6 Things to Get in Writing From a Gold IRA Custodian Before You Open#

Before you open a gold IRA, get 6 things from the custodian in writing, starting with your own fee schedule and the total cost to leave. A revision date is the code or date printed on a fee schedule that shows which version you signed.

The 6 things are listed below, each with a number from this page.

1. Get the fee schedule attached to your own application, with its revision date. Equity Trust has four schedules. A segregated account at $50,000 costs $285 a year (metals-only, Rev. 081726) or $660 (Universal IRA, Rev. 110625).
2. Get the total cost to leave. Closing fees run from $150 to $500 as of September 2026, as the exit table shows.
3. Get the number of business days to sell and wire cash, and to transfer in kind. Slow exits and exit fees together make up most 1-star reviews at all three top custodians.
4. Get the depository name, the storage type and whether your metal is listed item by item. Segregated silver is not available at every vault; Delaware segregated storage excludes silver at STRATA and Forge.
5. Get the billing date and whether fees are prorated. Equity Trust bills each January and Forge on day 1 of each quarter, and neither prorates.
6. Get the arbitration terms and any opt-out deadline. Equity Trust gives you 65 days from opening to opt out.

If a gold company offers to pay these fees, ask for how many years and what happens after. The custodian still bills you if the company stops paying: Provident's fee disclosure says "you are personally responsible for payment of all fees." What no-fee gold IRA offers are worth over 10 years is worked out separately.

Gold IRA Custodians vs Self-Directed IRA Companies, Brokerages and Gold ETFs#

A gold IRA custodian is a self-directed IRA provider that holds physical metal, and two cheaper routes exist for savers who do not need their own coins. They are bullion inside a brokerage IRA and a gold ETF in the IRA you already have. A brokerage IRA is an ordinary IRA at a broker such as Fidelity or Schwab. Whether you need a metals custodian at all starts with how a self-directed IRA for gold works.

Why "best self-directed IRA custodian" lists rank different names#

General self-directed IRA rankings reward real-estate tools, checkbook control and online portals, which a metals-only IRA does not use. So they rank custodians such as IRA Financial and Madison higher than their cost for gold would.

Those lists judge custodians on three things that do not lower the cost of holding gold, listed below.

• Real-estate support. Help buying property inside an IRA, a use outside a metals IRA.
• Checkbook control. A bank account run through an IRA-owned company; IRA bullion still needs a trustee's physical possession under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B).
• Online portals. Dashboards for real estate, private loans and other assets, built for active investors.

General self-directed IRA rankings seen on September 29, 2026 name Equity Trust, IRA Financial, uDirect, Entrust, Rocket Dollar and Madison. IRA Financial charges $495 a year before storage, and Madison costs $656 a year at $50,000, as of September 2026.

Can Fidelity or Schwab be your gold IRA custodian?#

Fidelity can hold bullion inside a Fidelity IRA, so it acts as its own gold custodian, but on $100,000 over 10 years it costs about $6,990. That is nearly three times the $2,410 of the cheapest metals custodian.

Fidelity's schedule, as of September 29, 2026, charges a 2.90% to 0.99% commission to buy, 0.50% a year for storage and a $1,000 minimum IRA purchase. Fidelity takes only Gold, Silver and Platinum Eagles, the 1 oz Gold Buffalo and bullion bars in IRAs, stored at FideliTrade in Delaware. It lists no IRA closeout fee as of September 2026. Every Fidelity gold IRA fee is on Fidelity gold IRA.

Schwab sells no bullion in its IRAs. Its gold ETF options and the cost to roll over are covered in Schwab and gold IRAs.

Is a gold ETF in your current IRA cheaper than any gold IRA custodian?#

Yes on fees: a 0.10% gold ETF costs about $1,000 over 10 years on $100,000, less than half the $2,410 of the cheapest custodian. An ETF, or exchange-traded fund, is a fund you buy like a stock. Its expense ratio is the yearly fee the fund takes, as a share of your money.

GLDM charges 0.10%, IAU 0.25% ($2,500 over 10 years) and GLD 0.40% ($4,000), per the funds' 10-K filings (2025-2026; as of September 2026), before trading spreads. Gold ETFs are allowed in ordinary IRAs (IRS private letter ruling 200732026). What you give up: the IRA owns fund shares, not coins or bars. The full math is in gold IRA vs gold ETF.

Best gold IRA custodians: frequently asked questions#

Which company is the best for a gold IRA?#

The company that sells you the metal matters more for your total cost than the custodian. On $100,000 over 10 years, the dealer's product can move your cost from about $8,580 to about $45,983. The custodian moves it by up to about $6,400. SafeOunce ranks those companies separately on price, contract and legal record in the best gold IRA company rankings.

Which self-directed IRA provider offers the lowest fees for gold?#

GoldStar Trust has the lowest published yearly cost for a metals-only IRA, $215 with shared storage at any balance, as of September 2026. The lowest total cost is a different question, because it adds the dealer's markup. That is answered in gold IRA companies with the lowest total cost.

What banks offer self-directed IRAs that hold gold?#

GoldStar Trust is a division of Centennial Bank, and most other gold IRA custodians are state-chartered trust companies. The tax code treats a state-supervised trust company as a bank for IRAs (26 U.S.C. 408(n)). Equity Trust, for example, holds South Dakota charter TC.022-2.

Is Kingdom Trust still a gold IRA custodian?#

No: Kingdom Trust stopped being a custodian on January 24, 2024, and its accounts were assigned to Digital Trust in Nevada. The metal stayed in the same vaults. A separate FinCEN consent order in April 2023 set a $1,500,000 penalty for Bank Secrecy Act violations in a foreign payments business, not over IRA metal. What former clients can do is in the Kingdom Trust review.

Are gold IRA custodians FDIC insured?#

Only the uninvested cash is, up to $250,000 at an FDIC-insured bank. The metal is covered by the depository's insurance, not by the FDIC or SIPC. Delaware Depository, for example, carries $1 billion of all-risk cover plus $100 million contingent (its FAQ, September 2026), and it pays metal value, not premiums. Its agreement (section 4.6) excludes war, terrorism, cyber attack, radioactive, chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and government confiscation. How vault insurance works is covered in gold IRA depositories.

How often is this custodian ranking updated, and does anyone pay to be on it?#

SafeOunce rechecks every fee schedule on this page each quarter and whenever a custodian announces a change, and no custodian can pay to be listed or ranked. Fees do move. Directed IRA's yearly fee rose from $295 in 2023 to $395 in September 2024 and $495 in 2026, up 68%.