Gold IRA Storage Fees: Commingled vs Segregated, Company by Company
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How much are gold IRA storage fees?
Most companies that publish a rate charge $110 a year for commingled storage or $160 for segregated. The fee is flat, so it doesn't grow with your metal. Noble Gold sells segregated storage only, at $150. If you hold plain bullion, commingled storage gets you equivalent metal back for $50 a year less. If you own coins valued for condition or rarity, segregated keeps your exact pieces. Over ten years the gap is $500. On a $20,000 account, $110 is over half a percent a year. On $200,000 it barely registers.
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Storage fees by company
Every company below sends IRA metal to an outside depository. The dealer doesn't run the vault. That is why the numbers cluster: most of these firms use Equity Trust as custodian and price storage off its schedule.
| Company | Commingled | Segregated | Depository named |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Hartford Gold $10,000 minimum | $110 | $160 | Delaware Depository |
| Augusta Precious Metals $50,000 minimum Paid partner | Type unspecified: $110 | Not published | Delaware Depository |
| Get Augusta's free Gold IRA guide ($50k minimum)Paid partner Augusta's published minimum is $50,000. | |||
| Birch Gold Group $5,000 minimum | $110 (Equity Trust rate) | $160 (Equity Trust rate) | Delaware Depository |
| Goldco $25,000 minimum Paid partner | $110 (Equity Trust rate) | $160 (Equity Trust rate) | Delaware Depository |
| Request Goldco's free Gold & Silver KitPaid partner A representative usually calls after you request it. | |||
| Lear Capital $10,000 minimum Caution on Lear Capital: NY AG $6M consent order (2022) and 2022 Chapter 11 with multistate $5.5M restitution. | $110 | $160 | Delaware Depository Service Company |
| Noble Gold Investments $20,000 minimum | Not offered | $150 | International Depository Services |
| Patriot Gold Group Minimum not published | Not published | Not published | Texas Depository |
| Priority Gold $10,000 minimum Caution on Priority Gold: Site claims 'fully accredited' BBB A+ and 4.9 Trustpilot; BBB shows NOT accredited and Trustpilot shows 4.8 (2026-10-29). | $110 | $160 | A-Mark Global Logistics / Loomis |
A few notes on that table. Goldco's figures are Equity Trust's current rates, not Goldco's own: Goldco names Equity Trust as one of its custodians and features the Delaware Depository, without saying either is the only option, and its cost page still lists older storage rates; Gold IRA Companies Ranked's notes on Goldco's fees show the older and current figures together. With another custodian the rate can differ. The Goldco review at Gold IRA Companies Ranked has a section on Goldco's custodians and depositories.
Augusta publishes $110 a year for storage but not which type, so we don't file it under either. Birch Gold publishes $110 in an Equity Trust and Delaware example, and the segregated rate comes from Equity Trust's schedule rather than Birch. Birch also works with GoldStar Trust, which has its own fee schedule, a point the fee table on Gold IRA Companies Ranked makes in its Birch note. Noble Gold's own pages give two different figures; we use the newer support page.
Commingled or segregated: what the extra $50 buys
With commingled storage, your metal sits with other customers' metal of the same type. The depository's records show that you own, say, twenty one-ounce coins of a given kind. When you sell or take delivery, you get twenty of those coins back, not necessarily the ones you bought.
Segregated storage puts your items in their own space, tagged to your account. You get back the exact pieces. That matters most for coins valued for their condition or rarity, where two coins of the same type can be worth different amounts. For plain bullion bars and coins, the metal is interchangeable, so the extra fee buys record-keeping rather than a different asset.
The yearly gap at Equity Trust rates is $50. Across ten years it adds $500; on a $50,000 account that is one percent of the money, before any change in the price of the metal.
Which one you pick is your decision. We'd only point out that the choice is easy to make by default on an application form, and hard to notice later because it shows up as a small yearly line on a custodian statement.
Flat storage versus storage that scales
All the published rates above are flat. That cuts both ways. On a small account, $110 a year is a large share: at $20,000 it is over half a percent every year for storage alone. On $200,000 it is a rounding error.
None of the eight companies we track publishes a storage rate set as a percentage of the metal's value, so there is no scaled rate to compare here. If a provider ever quotes you one, divide the flat yearly alternative by the rate to find the balance where the two cost the same. Our flat vs scaled fee page walks through that sum.
Storage is one line of three. To see it next to setup and admin in a single total for your amount, the calculator on our home page adds them up per company.
Why storage can't simply be at home
IRA metal needs a third-party vault for a tax reason, not a sales one. The IRS treats most metals and coins as collectibles, which an IRA can't hold. The exception covers certain coins and bullion of a set fineness, and the bullion part only applies if a bank or an approved non-bank trustee keeps physical possession of it. If the IRA buys a collectible, the IRS treats the cost as a distribution in that year.
So when an ad promises a gold IRA with your coins in your own safe, read it carefully and take it to a tax professional. The storage fee is the price of staying inside that exception.
What to ask before you pick a depository
- Is the storage rate flat, and is it the same in year one and later years?
- Commingled or segregated, and what does each cost at this depository?
- Who bills it: the custodian, the depository or the dealer?
- Is insurance included in the storage fee or charged separately?
- If storage is waived for a period, what happens to the rate when the waiver ends?
- What does it cost to move the metal to a different depository later?
The storage line is usually the smallest decision in a gold IRA, but it's the one you pay every year. Ask the six questions once, in writing, and keep the answers with your account papers.
Verdict
Storage is not where the companies differ. American Hartford Gold, Lear Capital and Priority Gold publish the same $110 and $160 rates as Equity Trust, which is also what Goldco and Birch Gold customers pay if Equity Trust holds the account. Augusta publishes $110 without naming a type, and Noble Gold is the outlier at $150 for segregated-only storage. Pick the storage type you actually need, and look for the real price differences in the dealer's markup and in any written waiver.
Goldco's kit is open to accounts from $25,000; Augusta asks for at least $50,000.
A representative usually calls after you request it.
Augusta's published minimum is $50,000. Below that, it isn't an option.
A representative usually calls after you request it.
Storage fee questions
What do commingled and segregated storage cost?
At the companies that publish storage rates, $110 a year for commingled (non-segregated) storage and $160 a year for segregated storage. Noble Gold, which offers segregated storage only, lists $150.
Is gold IRA storage charged as a percentage of my metal?
Not at the companies we track. Storage is a flat yearly dollar amount, so it costs the same whether the vault holds $20,000 or $200,000 of metal.
What is the difference between commingled and segregated storage?
Commingled storage holds your metal together with other customers' metal of the same kind; you own a set quantity and get back equivalent items. Segregated storage keeps your own coins and bars apart and labeled as yours, so you get back the exact pieces.
Can I store my gold IRA metal at home?
The IRS rule for IRA bullion is that a bank or an approved non-bank trustee keeps physical possession of it. Metal held outside that arrangement can be treated as a distribution. Talk to a tax professional before acting on any home-storage pitch.
Who do I pay storage fees to?
The depository that holds the metal, usually billed through your IRA custodian. The dealer that sold you the metal does not set the storage rate, though some dealers pay storage for a period as part of a waiver.
Can storage fees be waived?
Some companies publish storage waivers with conditions. Priority Gold, for example, publishes one year of free storage per $50,000 invested, up to five years. Patriot Gold publishes no storage fees on qualified accounts of $100,000 and up. Goldco publishes no storage waiver.
Sources
- Equity Trust: Fee FAQs (storage schedule), checked October 29, 2026
- Goldco: How to read your precious metals IRA statement, checked October 29, 2026
- Augusta Precious Metals: What a gold IRA costs each year, checked October 29, 2026
- American Hartford Gold: Precious Metals Investment and Gold IRA Guide (PDF), checked October 29, 2026
- Birch Gold Group: Prices, checked October 29, 2026
- Birch Gold Group: FAQs, checked October 29, 2026
- Lear Capital: Gold IRA fee structure, checked October 29, 2026
- Noble Gold Investments: Support FAQ, checked October 29, 2026
- Patriot Gold Group: US storage, checked October 29, 2026
- Patriot Gold Group: No Fees for Life landing page, checked October 29, 2026
- Priority Gold: Gold IRA fees, checked October 29, 2026
- IRS: Investments in collectibles in individually directed qualified plan accounts, checked October 30, 2026
Facts checked October 29, 2026