Goldco vs Money Metals Exchange: Fees, Minimums, Custodians

This page sets Goldco and Money Metals Exchange side by side, using the same fields for both. It is one of our pages that compare Gold IRA companies side by side, and it follows our company research methodology.

We do not pick a winner or tell you which to use. We show how each company's own pages describe how it sells and stores precious metals, and where those pages leave gaps or disagree. Everything a company says about itself is written as that company's claim. Our guide to the custodian, dealer and depository explains the three roles in a gold or silver IRA.

Dates matter. Companies change their pages without notice. We re-opened both companies' pages on 2026-10-18. Items we could not re-open are marked "as of our 2026-10-15 check" (Goldco) or "as of our 2026-10-16 check" (Money Metals). If a figure no longer matches a company's page, tell us through our corrections page.

How do the two companies compare at a glance?

Quotation marks show the company's own words. "Not stated" means we did not find it on the pages we opened, which is different from "does not exist."

What fees do the two companies publish?

Goldco. According to Goldco's cost page, setup is "a one-time fee of $50," the annual account fee is $125, and storage is $100 a year (non-segregated) or $150 (segregated). It says to expect about $225 a year. Its FAQ page says about $50 for setup, "around $80" for the annual fee, "between $100-150" for storage and "somewhere in the ballpark of $200 a year or so in fees." A third page says "about $200-300 a year" combined. The cost page says it was updated in February 2025.

Money Metals Exchange. According to its IRA page, Money Metals publishes no dollar amount for setup, annual or storage fees. Its silver-gold-storage page carries the line "Fully Segregated Silver & Gold Storage with Extraordinarily Low Fees" above its main heading and says fees are "usually lower than those charged by a precious metals ETF such as SLV or GLD." Its precious-metals-storage page says "Minimums usually apply and storage rates will vary" and that third-party vaulting firms charge "anywhere from 50 to 80 basis points" a year (a basis point is one hundredth of one percent). That describes other vaults, not Money Metals' own price list. Its FAQ banner offers "Free Shipping on $199+ Orders."

Custodian fees are a separate layer, covered below. See our guides to custodian fees and storage fees.

What minimums do the two companies state?

Goldco's cost page says "we generally require a minimum of $25,000 to start a gold IRA," and its FAQ says "at least $25,000 available to roll over." Its minimum article instead says the answer is "it depends" and that "You really don't need much to start a gold IRA in theory, just earned income to contribute to an IRA."

Money Metals' IRA, FAQ and Sell to Us pages state no minimum; only the storage page hints at minimums, with no amounts.

Who is the custodian, and where is the metal stored?

Goldco. No Goldco page we opened names a custodian or depository. The pages say Goldco "works with established gold IRA custodians" and "established bullion depositories" (5 Steps), and that IRA gold "is stored at a bullion depository" (Not Costco). Goldco's site has an article about Delaware Depository (which says it was updated in November 2025). It does not say Goldco uses that depository, so we do not say so either. See segregated and commingled storage.

Money Metals Exchange. According to its IRA page, you choose a custodian, Money Metals sells the metal, and the metal goes to a depository.

Its link to New Direction Trust Company carries a sponsor code. We did not contact any of these firms.

The storage pages say the depository is in Eagle, Idaho. They say metal is segregated and never rehypothecated, "held in true bailment," audited weekly in-house and yearly by a third party, and "fully insured by Lloyd's of London." Its legal disclosures add that customers' metals "are not covered by any state or federal insurance program if losses occur."

Custodian fees. New Direction Trust Company's fees page, opened 2026-10-18, gave no dollar figures. As of our 2026-10-16 check, its fee schedule PDF (version V.101524, effective November 15, 2024) listed a "Precious Metals Annual Administration Fee" of $220 and "Precious Metals Processing" of $130, and says "All annual fees are per asset." It is a custodian document, about two years old, and we do not know which lines would apply to a given account. For Goldco we have no custodian name, so we have no custodian fee schedule.

The IRS publishes a separate list of approved nonbank trustees and custodians. We did not check any of the firms Money Metals names against that list, or how those firms are chartered, so this page makes no finding about their status. See custodian requirements.

What do the companies say about spreads, buying and buyback?

A dealer sells above the spot price (the market price of the raw metal) and buys back below it. The gap is the spread. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission says in its customer advisory, "If fees are not available in writing before your purchase, that is a red flag" (as of our 2026-10-16 check). See our guide to dealer premiums and markups.

Goldco states no markup, premium or spread on the pages we opened. Its buyback wording differs by page:

• 5 Reasons page: "Goldco guarantees to buy back your metals at the highest price," with a footnote that Goldco "will buy back metals purchased from Goldco at any time," that "The highest price buy back guarantee applies after three years from initial purchase," that "No specific buy back rates guaranteed," and that details are in "your customer agreement."
• About page: "the industry's highest buyback guarantee PLUS no fees when you're ready to liquidate." It does not say what a custodian or depository might charge.

Money Metals Exchange gives no company-wide spread. Its FAQ says premiums "vary according to the product in question" and describes industry spreads of "less than 10%" for bullion and "30%, 40%, or more" for proof coins and other numismatics. Its Sell to Us page says items must be in "good, marketable condition," and "You are committing to sell and Money Metals Exchange is committing to buy at the price shown." The legal disclosures say Money Metals "strives to issue payment within three (3) business days of receipt." For more, see buyback policies and liquidation costs.

What do the website terms say?

Goldco. Its Terms & Conditions page and privacy policy have no arbitration, governing-law, jurisdiction or class waiver language that we found. The sales agreement is not public, so we have not seen it.

Money Metals Exchange. Its legal disclosures say an order "becomes binding and non-cancelable" once confirmed, a buyer who fails to pay on time owes a "$50 payment default fee plus all monetary damages we incur," and "Orders may also be subject to a 5% restocking fee." They mention no arbitration clause, include a class action waiver, apply Idaho law, and name "the state or federal courts located in Idaho."

A class action waiver means you agree not to join a group lawsuit.

What does each BBB profile show?

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) publishes profiles, customer reviews and complaint records. BBB's site blocks our tools, so these figures come from screenshots viewed by the site owner: on 2026-10-15 for Goldco and 2026-10-16 for Money Metals. BBB says it does not verify third-party information or endorse any business.

The A+ is BBB's letter grade. The review averages are star ratings written by customers, a separate measure. Complaint counts are not comparable between firms of different size and transaction volume, and they imply nothing on their own. For Money Metals, the Complaints screenshot was too small to read, so we report no count and no complaint content. Do not read the gap as good or bad.

For Goldco, BBB's page lists many complaints with company responses, and we read only the first two. They are consumers' allegations, the responses are Goldco's statements, and no judgment or order appears. One alleged a family member could not confirm access to an inherited account, and Goldco responded that the person was not shown as an authorized party. The other alleged deceptive sales representations, excessive markups on specialty coins and an obstructed liquidation.

For Money Metals, the first page of ten reviews included three one-star reviews, which are customers' allegations or opinions; the company replied to each. We draw no conclusion from ten reviews.

What court and regulatory records did we find?

We found no court judgment or regulator order against either company in the records below. A search that finds nothing is not proof that nothing exists.

Goldco. In the Alabama opinion, Goldco Direct, LLC is the plaintiff, and Warren Wilson, Wholesale Gold Silver IRA, Inc. and Wild West Coins, Inc. are defendants. The court denied Mr. Wilson's motion to dismiss and his motion to transfer the case to the Central District of California. We do not know how the case ended.

ClassAction.org reports a "$2,000,000 settlement" in Summerton v. Goldco Direct LLC, in which plaintiffs alleged Goldco "illegally sent excessive marketing texts to consumers on the Do Not Call Registry." It does not name the court or say whether Goldco admitted wrongdoing. A settlement is an agreement to resolve a case, not a finding that the allegations were true, and this one concerned text messages, not metals or IRAs.

Money Metals Exchange. The Justia docket lists Money Metals Exchange, LLC as plaintiff and LawChart.org and "Does 1-50" as defendants, with nature of suit "Other Fraud." Justia last retrieved it July 22, 2024 and shows no end date. We do not know the outcome.

Where do each company's own pages disagree?

Goldco:

• Annual fee: $125 (cost page) or "around $80" (FAQ).
• Yearly total: about $225, "in the ballpark of $200" or "$200-300," depending on the page.
• Minimum: "generally" $25,000, versus "you really don't need much" in theory.
• Buyback: the About page promises "no fees when you're ready to liquidate," while the 5 Reasons footnote says "No specific buy back rates guaranteed" and ties the highest-price guarantee to three years after purchase.
• Rankings: the home and 5 Reasons pages list a 2025 Inc. regional placement of 18th, while the About page says Goldco was "Named the #1 Precious Metals Company on the 2025 INC5000." These are different lists and categories, and we treat neither as established.

Money Metals Exchange:

• Customers: "750,000 customers" (About) versus "over 75,000 customers" (reviews page description tags). The home page invites visitors to "Join over 1 Million other savvy investors," and the About page also mentions "over one million readers"; neither is a customer count.
• Transactions: "Over $7 Billion In Trusted Transactions" (home and About) versus "Over $4 Billion" (reviews page).

What differs, and what does not?

• Goldco's pages state setup, annual and storage dollar figures and a general $25,000 minimum. Money Metals' pages state none for IRAs.
• Goldco's pages name no custodian or depository. Money Metals' IRA page names twelve custodians and its own depository.
• Goldco's buyback wording is a "guarantee" with a three-year condition. Money Metals' is an offer to buy "adjusted for current spot prices."
• Money Metals' public terms include a class action waiver, Idaho law and Idaho courts. Goldco's website pages contain none, and its sales agreement was not available to us.
• Neither company's pages we opened publish a markup or spread.
• Both have a BBB A+ rating and accreditation since 2011, per screenshots.
• In each company's own pages, at least one fee, customer or size figure contradicts another page.

What did we not check?

• Any customer agreement, application, depository agreement or custodian account agreement.
• Goldco's custodian and depository, which we could not identify.
• SEC EDGAR, NFA BASIC, CourtListener, PACER, Investor.gov, state regulators and state courts.
• Prices or buyback quotes for any product. We do not predict prices.

Questions to ask each company

Ask for answers in writing. See how to evaluate a Gold IRA company and how to verify a dealer.

Questions for Goldco

1. Which custodian and depository would hold my account, and may I see each one's current fee schedule?
2. Which annual and storage fees apply to me, given the differing figures on your pages?
3. What are the sale price, spot price and buyback price for each product I am quoted, all at the same time?
4. What does the "highest price" buyback guarantee mean in dollars, and what applies before the three-year point?
5. Does "no fees when you're ready to liquidate" cover custodian and depository charges?
6. May I read the customer agreement, including dispute terms, before I send money?

Questions for Money Metals Exchange

1. Which custodian and depository would hold my account, and may I see each one's current fee schedule?
2. What is the total yearly cost, adding the custodian's annual and processing fees to the storage fee?
3. What are the minimums for an account, storage and a purchase?
4. Does anyone receive anything when I use a sponsor link or a suggested custodian?
5. How would an IRA sale, transfer or distribution of metal work, and what would each cost?
6. May I read the depository storage agreement, including security-interest and default terms, and see proof of insurance and the latest audit?

How was this page researched?

On 2026-10-18 we re-opened the Goldco pages, the Alabama opinion and the ClassAction.org report listed in the citations, and the Money Metals pages, NDTC's fees page and the Justia docket. The BBB screenshots, the NDTC fee schedule PDF, the IRS trustee materials, the CFTC advisory and the CFPB and FINRA searches carry the dates of our earlier checks (2026-10-15 for Goldco, 2026-10-16 for Money Metals).

Read the full reviews: Goldco and Money Metals Exchange. A related side-by-side page is Goldco vs Orion Metal Exchange. We review fees, terms and company information every three months under our update policy. This page is general information, not personalized advice. Talk with a qualified financial planner, tax professional or attorney before you act.