Gold IRA Markups and Spreads: The Cost Most Companies Don't Publish

How the markup works

A dealer buys coins and bars from a wholesaler and sells them to you at a higher price. The gap is its margin. In an IRA, that purchase goes through the custodian, so the statement shows you own, say, ten coins at a price; it doesn't show what part of that price was the dealer's.

Selling reverses it. The dealer, or whoever buys the metal back, pays a bid price below the going retail price. Between the price you paid and the price you can sell at, there is a gap you have to recover from any rise in the metal before you break even.

That is why a markup matters more than a storage fee. Storage is $110 a year and visible. A markup is a percentage of everything you buy, paid on day one, and invisible unless you ask.

What each company says about its markup

American Hartford Gold's agreement defines the spread as the difference between the retail price quoted to you and the price it pays its wholesaler. It doesn't say whether the percentage is measured against your price or against its cost. That changes the dollar figure, so ask.

The numbers, next to the account fees

Take a $50,000 purchase and American Hartford Gold's published bullion range. If the percentage is a share of the price you pay, the dealer's margin is between $500 and $9,995. If it is a markup on the dealer's cost, the same percentages come to between $495 and $8,330.

Ten years of account fees is smaller than every figure in that table except the bottom of the bullion range. That is the plain reason this site keeps saying the markup matters more than the fee schedule. Our fee calculator covers only the visible part. Once a company gives you a spread for your order, the calculator on goldiracompaniesranked.com has a field for it and adds it to the fees for your amount.

Regulators on markups

The CFTC's precious metals fraud advisory says high transaction costs, ongoing storage and insurance can mean a buyer has to earn well above inflation just to break even, and that rare or collectible coins typically carry higher markups than bullion and are much less liquid. It also points out that metals salespeople typically aren't financial professionals with a duty to act in your interest.

In 2022 the New York Attorney General alleged that Lear Capital charged hidden commissions and markups of up to 33%; the case ended in a consent order. The SEC's investor alert on self-directed IRAs makes a related point about custodians: they generally don't evaluate the quality of what you buy.

How to get a markup in writing

You can ask for a number even where none is published. Ask before you fund the account, and keep the answer.

1. "What is the markup over spot on this exact product, as a percentage?" Name the coin or bar and the quantity.
2. "Is that percentage of my price or of your cost?" The difference is real at high percentages.
3. "What would you pay me for the same product if I sold it back today?" The gap between that and your price is the spread you start with.
4. "Does the bonus metal or fee waiver depend on which products I buy?" Offers tied to premium coins can come with a wider margin.
5. "Can I buy plain bullion instead of the coin you recommended, and what is its markup?"

If a company won't answer in writing, that is information too. Question 3 matters more than it looks: buyback terms differ, and the gold IRA fees compared page on Gold IRA Companies Ranked lists each company's published buyback position next to its fees.

Goldco and Augusta on pricing

Goldco doesn't publish a markup. What it does publish is a price match: if you show it a competitor selling the same coin for less, it says it will match the price or send a 5-gram silver bar, and it reserves the right to change that offer. Augusta says its margin is built into the metal price and that its staff are salaried without product-specific commissions. Neither statement is a percentage, so the questions above still apply to both. The conditions on Goldco's price match and buyback are quoted in full in the Goldco review at Gold IRA Companies Ranked.

Verdict

Most companies don't publish a markup, and the one that does publishes a range wide enough to swamp a decade of account fees. Treat the markup as the main price of a gold IRA, ask for it in writing on your exact order, and compare plain bullion with whatever coin is being suggested.

Goldco and Augusta pay this site when you request their information; the questions above work the same on both. Goldco's minimum is $25,000, Augusta's $50,000.

Request Goldco's free Gold & Silver Kit Paid partner

A representative usually calls after you request it.

Get Augusta's free Gold IRA guide ($50k minimum) Paid partner

Augusta's published minimum is $50,000. Below that, it isn't an option.

Markup and spread questions

What is a gold IRA markup?

It is the amount a dealer adds to what the metal cost it, built into the price you pay for each coin or bar. It is not listed as a fee, so it does not show up on a custodian statement.

Is a spread the same as a markup?

People use the words loosely. Strictly, the spread is the gap between the price a dealer sells at and the price it buys back at. The markup is the part of your purchase price above the dealer's cost. Both describe money you lose between buying and selling.

How big are gold IRA spreads?

Only one company we track publishes a range: American Hartford Gold, at 1.00%-19.99% on bullion and up to 59.99% on certain numismatic coins. The others do not publish a number.

Why don't gold IRA companies publish their markups?

They don't say. Markups differ by product and change with the market, and a published figure would be easy to compare. Whatever the reason, you can still ask for the figure on your exact order, in writing, before you pay.

Do collectible coins cost more than bullion?

The CFTC warns that most rare or collectible coins typically carry higher markups than bullion and are much less liquid. American Hartford Gold's published ranges follow the same pattern: wider for numismatic coins than for bullion.

Is the markup bigger than the account fees?

It can easily be. Ten years of account fees on the standard custodian schedule is $2,400. A 19.99% spread on a $50,000 purchase is about $9,995 if measured on your price, paid once, on day one.

Sources

1. American Hartford Gold: Shipping and Transaction Agreement (PDF), checked October 29, 2026
2. Augusta Precious Metals: What a gold IRA costs each year, checked October 29, 2026
3. Goldco: About, checked October 29, 2026
4. Birch Gold Group: FAQs, checked October 29, 2026
5. Priority Gold: Gold IRA fees, checked October 29, 2026
6. Equity Trust: Fee FAQs (the account-fee comparison), checked October 29, 2026
7. New York Attorney General: Lear Capital consent order press release (January 2022), checked October 29, 2026
8. CFTC: Precious metals fraud advisory, checked October 30, 2026
9. SEC Investor.gov: Investor Alert, Self-Directed IRAs and the Risk of Fraud, checked October 30, 2026

Facts checked October 29, 2026