Augusta Precious Metals vs Noble Gold Investments: Fees, Minimums, Custodians

Disclosure: Augusta Precious Metals is our affiliate partner, and we may earn a commission if you request its info kit through a link on this site. The full explanation is in Our relationship with Augusta Precious Metals.

What is this page, and what is it not?

This page puts two dealers' published statements side by side, in the same order and with the same fields. It is part of our company comparison series and is not a ranking or a recommendation.

What was re-opened today. On October 18, 2026 we re-opened Augusta's home, FAQ, Gold IRA, Silver IRA, Reviews and Terms of Use pages, and Noble Gold's home, Gold IRA, Support and Terms & Conditions pages. Everything else is as recorded in our reviews on October 12 (Augusta) and October 15, 2026 (Noble Gold). See the Augusta Precious Metals review and Noble Gold Investments review.

A Gold IRA is a self-directed IRA holding physical metal: the dealer sells it, the custodian legally holds the IRA, and the depository is the vault (how the three fit together).

At a glance: how do the two companies' published claims line up?

Each entry is the company's own statement, not something we confirmed independently, unless noted.

What does each company say about who it is?

Augusta. Its FAQ says "Augusta Precious Metals was formed in January 2012 by founder and CEO Isaac Nuriani." Its Terms name only "Augusta Precious Metals." Its BBB profile, per the screenshots, lists a business start date of 12/31/2011, an incorporation date of 6/28/2021 and the type "Corporation."

Noble Gold. Its home page says "More than 20 Years of Helping our Clients Protect their Wealth," without saying what the 20 years counts. As recorded in our review, "Who We Are" says the company "was founded by Collin Plume," President and CEO. Its Gold IRA page disclaimers name both "Golden Bull, LLC dba Noble Gold Investments" and "NOBLE GOLD, INC."; its BBB profile, per the owner's 2026-10-15 screenshots, lists an LLC, business started 5/13/2016, incorporated 5/23/2016, and 10 years in business.

What minimum does each company state?

Augusta's FAQ says it "requires a minimum initial purchase of $50,000 for both cash (non-IRA) and IRA purchases," and that this "isn't a fee." Noble Gold's Gold IRA page says "Our Gold IRA minimum investment is $20,000" and lists $10,000 for cash purchases. See minimum investment.

What account fees does each company state?

Augusta does not explain how "up to 10 years" works or what happens afterward. Noble Gold's two pages disagree on setup ($50 or $80) and storage ($160 or $150), and no page says which is current.

Do the custodian's own fee schedules match?

As recorded in our reviews (not re-opened today), Equity Trust's Institutional "Flex" schedule lists a $125 yearly fee for a "Precious Metals" account and storage of $160 (segregated) or $110 (non-segregated), while its Universal and Legacy Retail schedules list $500 and $425 yearly for a $50,000 to $99,999 account. We do not know which applies to either dealer; a resemblance to one schedule is not a finding. See custodian fees, storage fees and hidden fees.

Which custodian and depository does each company name?

Augusta. Its Gold IRA page says it "works with Equity Trust Company" and "stores metals at Delaware Depository."

Noble Gold. Its Gold IRA page says "we'll connect you with a trusted precious metals IRA custodian" and names none, yet also says "Noble Gold is the only custodian offering a flat-fee structure," a company claim we could not verify. Its Support page names "Equity Institutional" for the Gold IRA, "New Direction IRA Services" for the Silver IRA and, elsewhere, "Equity Trust IRA," and says "Noble Gold has partnered with International Depository Services (IDS)." The Gold IRA page links "Secure Texas Depository."

IRS list, for both. As recorded in our reviews, we did not find Equity Trust, Augusta, New Direction, Noble Gold or "Golden Bull" on the IRS list of approved nonbank trustees and custodians dated April 1, 2026. Equity Trust states on its regulatory page that the list excludes entities that qualify as IRA custodians under state law; that is its statement, not our legal conclusion. See custodian requirements.

What does each company say about storage and insurance?

Augusta's FAQ says metals are "held fully allocated and off-balance-sheet" and "insured against covered losses while stored, typically through a London underwriter." Its Silver IRA page cites "$1 billion in all-risk insurance backed by leading London underwriters."

Noble Gold's Support page says storage is segregated and IDS assets are "insured through an all-risk policy underwritten by Lloyd's of London." Its Gold IRA page says "to keep your assets insured, secure, and safely stored."

"Allocated" and "segregated" are different words; the Augusta FAQ does not use "segregated." For both, no coverage terms are shown, and we did not re-open depository sites. See IRA metals insurance and segregated and commingled storage.

What is disclosed about the price of the metal itself?

The spot price is the market price for a troy ounce. A dealer sells above spot and buys back below it, and the gap is the spread. The CFTC says in its customer advisory: "A dealer will always sell metal above the spot price and buy it back below the spot price."

Augusta's FAQ says "No additional commission is added to prices listed by Augusta," and its Gold IRA page says Augusta "publishes its fees and walks through all costs — including the spread — before any transaction." No percentage over spot appears on the pages read.

Noble Gold's pages read today give no premium or spread figure. As recorded in our review, its "What Is a Gold IRA?" article says commissions average "around $40," without saying if that applies to Noble Gold.

See dealer premiums, markups and spreads.

What does each company say about buying metal back and cancelling?

Augusta's FAQ says "the law doesn't allow any dealer to guarantee future repurchases," that its policy "is subject to change without notice," and that there is "no separate liquidation fee when Augusta agrees to repurchase your metals." Its Gold IRA page says "Augusta has never denied a client buyback since 2012," a company claim we cannot verify. On cancellation, Augusta's FAQ describes (in its words) "a 100% 7-day money-back guarantee" and a "24-hour Highest Buyback Price Guarantee window, during which you can request cancellation if another dealer offers more"; the Gold IRA page repeats a 24-hour window. The pages do not say how the two windows relate. Its Terms refer to a separate transaction agreement.

As recorded in our Augusta review (BBB profile, 2026-10-12 screenshot; not re-opened), the "Refund and Exchange Policy" there says first-time customers have up to seven calendar days after confirmation to cancel premium gold and silver coin transactions, subsequent orders are final once the recorded confirmation call is complete, and all bullion and semi-premium orders are "final upon confirmation." The profile does not define the categories.

Noble Gold's Support page says "We offer a Buyback program to ensure that you are not left with the task of finding a buyer for your precious metals," and its home page says "top-rated buyback program," a company claim we found nothing behind. No terms are given. Its Gold IRA page and Terms contain no purchase cancellation policy; the Terms offer a refund only for lost or stolen items.

See buyback costs and liquidity risk.

What do the BBB profiles show?

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a nonprofit that publishes business profiles, reviews and complaint records. We did not open bbb.org. Figures here and in the table above are per screenshots of BBB's profile sent to us by the site owner: Augusta's profile and reviews pages on 2026-10-12 and its Complaints tab on 2026-10-15; Noble Gold's pages on 2026-10-15. BBB says it does not verify business-supplied information, and accreditation is not an endorsement.

The review average is of customer reviews, not BBB's letter grade, and BBB says displayed complaint text might not represent all complaints filed.

What do the complaints allege?

Complaints are consumers' allegations, and responses are the company's statements. No judgment or order is shown in the screenshots for either company.

Augusta, one complaint (filed 01/23/2026, Sales and Advertising Issues, Answered). The consumer alleged premiums on a retirement-funds purchase were substantially above typical market pricing and that written buyback pricing and liquidity expectations differed from what was presented. Augusta's responses say there appears to be confusion about valuation, that the third-party analysis does not accurately reflect valuation or spreads, that no confidentiality agreement is required before buyback pricing, and that a live appointment is needed for pricing. The consumer rejected the responses and asked for written documentation. No resolution is shown.

Noble Gold, three complaints. (1) 02/16/2026, Product Issues, Resolved: the consumer raised concerns about the purity of silver received, later saying it is pure but still being unhappy; no business response is visible. (2) 07/23/2025, Billing Issues, Answered: the consumer alleged high undisclosed fees or commission; Noble Gold responded that it charges no hidden fees, and later said the matter was resolved (its account). (3) 12/08/2023, Customer Service Issues, Answered: the consumer alleged being told no taxes would be owed, then told otherwise; Noble Gold said it found no matching communication, and the consumer rejected the response.

What third-party ratings does each company display?

Augusta's reviews page reports BBB "4.93/5" from "134 reviews, 0 complaints on file (as of 7/16/26)," and Google 4.9; only the BBB item is dated. Noble Gold's home page reports "265+ Reviews on Better Business Bureau" and "777+" on Google, undated. These are not ratings from us (how review sites make money).

What do the website terms say?

Website terms are not the sales agreement, which we have not seen for either company.

Augusta's Terms say disputes "shall be resolved through final and binding Arbitration" (National Arbitration and Mediation), state that "the parties expressly waive their right to file a class action," name Wyoming law and the courts of Casper, and require claims within one year after the cause of action accrues.

Noble Gold's Terms & Conditions contain no governing-law, arbitration or claims-period clause. They say the company "makes no representations or guarantees that metals purchased will appreciate in value," and include text about "goldco.com" testimonials and "Goldco shall make reasonable efforts ship metals within five to fourteen (5-14) business days."

What public records did we search for each company?

Run on the dates shown, not repeated today.

A zero in the CFPB database means no complaint under that name appeared there that day, and a web search is not a docket search. We make no claim about lawsuits or regulatory actions beyond these searches. The BrokerCheck rows differ because of tool results.

Where do the companies' own pages conflict or run thin?

Augusta.

• The pages do not say how the FAQ's 7-day and 24-hour windows relate, and the BBB-profile refund policy (as recorded) sets different terms by product type.
• Its reviews page says "0 complaints on file (as of 7/16/26)" and 134 BBB reviews, while the owner's BBB screenshots show one complaint filed 01/23/2026 and 136 reviews. They may count or date things differently.
• "Up to 10 years" of paid fees is unexplained, and no page says which Equity Trust schedule applies.

Noble Gold.

• The Gold IRA and Support pages give different setup and storage fees.
• The Gold IRA page names no custodian and calls Noble Gold a "custodian," while the Support page names three outside custodians.
• Its home page says "265+ Reviews on Better Business Bureau," against 241 in the screenshots.
• Its home page claim of "More than 20 Years" does not match the 2016 start and incorporation dates on its BBB profile (per screenshots); the pages do not say what the 20 years counts.
• No buyback or cancellation terms were found; the Terms refer to Goldco.

Both. No spread figure, insurance document or sales agreement.

What did we not check?

• Pages not re-opened today: Augusta's compliance page; Noble Gold's "Who We Are," "What Is a Gold IRA?" and Texas depository pages; Equity Trust, New Direction IRA and depository sites; the IRS, CFTC, CFPB and FINRA pages.
• bbb.org, sales agreements and insurance documents.
• PACER, state courts, state regulators, Investor.gov, and FINRA BrokerCheck for Augusta.

What questions could you ask Augusta Precious Metals?

Ask in writing.

1. What are the sale, spot and buyback prices for each product I am quoted?
2. Which Equity Trust fee schedule applies to me, and what is its revision date?
3. How does the custodian qualify to hold my IRA?
4. Which depository holds my metals, is storage segregated, and what are the insurance terms?
5. What are the written buyback terms, and what does it cost to sell?
6. Which legal entity am I contracting with, and do the 7-day, 24-hour and "final upon confirmation" terms apply to each product I am quoted (bullion, semi-premium, premium)?
7. How are your educators paid, and may I see the Transaction Agreement before I send money?

What questions could you ask Noble Gold Investments?

1. What are the sale, spot and buyback prices for each product I am quoted?
2. Which fee schedule applies to me: the $50 setup version or the $80 setup version?
3. Which custodian holds my account, and how does it qualify to hold an IRA?
4. Which depository holds my metals, is storage segregated, and what are the insurance terms?
5. What are the written buyback terms, and what does it cost to sell?
6. Which legal entity am I contracting with, and which cancellation or final-sale terms apply to each product I am quoted?
7. How are your specialists paid, and may I see the Shipping and Transaction Agreement before I send money?

What risks apply no matter which company you consider?

Metal prices go up and down (price volatility), you can only sell at a buyback price or to another buyer, and counterparty risk means a company you rely on may fail to do its part. We do not predict prices.

How was this page researched, and when will it be updated?

The ten company pages listed near the top were re-opened on October 18, 2026. All other sources carry the earlier dates in the citations and are described as recorded in our reviews. BBB data comes only from screenshots supplied by the site owner. Anything that came only from a company is written as its statement.

We review company pages every three months under our update policy. Related: Augusta Precious Metals vs Birch Gold Group and American Hartford Gold vs Augusta Precious Metals. Report errors on our corrections page.

General information, not personalized advice; talk with a qualified professional before you act.