Goldco vs Patriot Gold Group: Fees, Minimums, Custodians

This page sets out what Goldco and Patriot Gold Group publish about themselves, one field at a time, next to each other. It does not rank them, score them or tell you which to use.

A gold IRA usually involves three different parties: a dealer that sells the metal, a custodian (the bank or trust company that holds the IRA on paper and reports to the IRS), and a depository (the vault where the metal is kept). Our guide to the custodian, dealer and depository explains who does what.

Dates matter. Companies change fees and offers without notice. Company facts here come from pages we re-opened on 2026-10-18, except those marked "as of our 2026-10-15 check," which were not re-opened. Anything from a company is its own statement, not independently confirmed.

How do Goldco and Patriot Gold Group compare at a glance?

The table uses the same fields for both companies. "Not stated" means we did not find it on the pages listed in the last column. It does not mean the thing does not exist.

How do the published fees compare?

Goldco posts dollar figures, but not the same ones on every page.

• On its cost page, Goldco says the setup fee is "a one-time fee of $50," the annual account administration fee is "$125 per year," and storage is "$100 per year" (non-segregated) or "$150 a year" (segregated). (Segregated storage keeps your metal apart from other customers'.) The page says to "expect to pay about $275-325 in the first year" and "about $225 total per year."
• Its FAQ page says "about $50" for setup, "around $80" for the annual account management fee, "between $100-150" for storage, and "somewhere in the ballpark of $200 a year or so" in total.
• A third page, How Much Money Do I Need to Start a Gold IRA?, gives "$200-300 a year in combined account maintenance fees and storage fees."

The FAQ also says that "in many cases these fees are flat," and adds that the fee is the same whether the balance is small or large.

Patriot Gold Group does not post dollar fees on the pages we opened. Its home page headline is "No Fees for Life on Qualifying IRAs." Its IRA page uses phrases such as "The Only Zero-Fee Retirement Account," "No management fees. No hidden bank fees. No fine print." and uses the phrase "where the fees range from 2-3%."

The page does not define "qualifying." A brochure on its site (file name indicates January 2020; as of our 2026-10-15 check) says it reimburses rollover fees and pays storage and insurance "for the life of the IRA" on qualifying IRAs, and carries a footnote that a minimum account value is required.

What do the pages say about the price of the metal itself?

When you buy metal through a dealer, the price usually includes a spread: the gap between the market ("spot") price and what you pay or receive. The CFTC, the federal regulator for commodity futures, says in its customer advisory that "A dealer will always sell metal above the spot price and buy it back below the spot price," and that if fees are not available in writing before purchase, "that is a red flag." We carried those quotes from our 2026-10-15 check.

• Goldco: none of the Goldco pages we opened (home, cost, FAQ, "5 Reasons," "5 Steps," "Not Costco") discloses a markup, premium or spread. A promotion on the "5 Reasons" page offers "up to 5% back in FREE Silver" on purchases of $50,000 to $99,999 and "10% in FREE Silver" on $100,000 or more, in Goldco premium coins; the page says the offer "cannot be combined with any other offer."
• Patriot Gold Group: the home page uses the phrase "offer competitive pricing," with no figures. The IRA, risk and privacy pages state no markup or spread. The IRA page offers a "Free Silver Coin With Phone Qualification"; we found no eligibility terms on the page.

How do the minimums compare?

Goldco says on its cost page: "we generally require a minimum of $25,000 to start a gold IRA." Its minimum-article page says "it depends," and in theory "you really don't need much to start a gold IRA."

Patriot Gold Group states no minimum. The dollar ranges on its site ("$2,500-$20,000" up to "$250,000+") are form dropdown options, not stated minimums. The brochure footnote (file name indicates January 2020; as of our 2026-10-15 check) refers to a minimum account value requirement and appears to exclude most bullion, bars and rounds from its fee offer; the exact terms are not shown online.

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

Neither company names a custodian on the pages we opened. A named custodian can be looked up, for example on the IRS list of approved nonbank trustees; we could not run that check because there is no name.

Goldco. Its pages use general wording such as "works with established gold IRA custodians" and "established bullion depositories." Goldco also has an article about Delaware Depository, which does not say Goldco uses it, and we do not say so either.

Patriot Gold Group. The home page says "physical delivery or private storage," and the IRA page says "Hold physical gold tax deferred in a Private Storage IRA or in your own hands." We do not interpret that phrase; ask a tax professional. On the brochure (file name indicates January 2020; as of our 2026-10-15 check), Brinks Global Services USA and "the DDSC (Delaware Depository)" are described as popular choices. Delaware Depository's own site lists addresses in Wilmington, Delaware and Boulder City, Nevada; it does not mention Patriot Gold Group.

What do they say about buying back your metal?

Goldco has the most buyback wording of the two, and it varies:

• The 5 Reasons page says "Goldco guarantees to buy back your metals at the highest price.*" The footnote says 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 [are] guaranteed," and "for additional details, please see your customer agreement."
• The About page says: "Lock in the industry's highest buyback guarantee PLUS no fees when you're ready to liquidate." The text we saw does not repeat the three-year condition. We do not treat "no fees" as a fact.

We have not seen the customer agreement.

Patriot Gold Group: we found no buyback, repurchase or resale terms on the home, IRA, risk, privacy or AML pages. The IRA page does say "Profits are tax-deferred when the proceeds from the sale remain with your custodian for reinvestment." That is a statement about taxes, not a buyback promise.

What do the website terms and risk statements say?

Goldco's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy contain no arbitration, governing-law or class-waiver language we found. Its Terms say "we are not licensed financial advisors and do not give financial advice." The Terms have a "Promotion Terms" heading that we did not read in full.

Patriot's legal pages are a risk disclosure, a privacy policy and an anti-money-laundering page; we found no terms of sale or use. The risk page says the company "does not guarantee any specific return, profit, or protection against loss," that "precious metals are not FDIC insured," that buyers "should be prepared to hold for at least three to five years," and refers to "no more than twenty percent of buyer's available investment funds" for metals. It contains no arbitration language.

What does each company's BBB profile show?

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private nonprofit that publishes business profiles and customer complaints. BBB's site blocks our automated reader, so these figures come from screenshots the site owner viewed on 2026-10-15. The newest Goldco review visible was dated 10/07/2026.

Please read these cautions before drawing any conclusion:

• Complaint counts are not comparable between firms of different size and volume, and imply nothing on their own. BBB itself says the nature of complaints and responses can matter more than the number.
• BBB says it does not verify third-party information and does not endorse any business.
• Complaints are consumers' allegations; business responses are company statements. We saw no judgment or order on either profile.
• All ten visible Patriot reviews (04/17/2026 to 07/25/2026) were 5-star, and the company replied to each. Nine of ten visible Goldco reviews (10/01/2026 to 10/07/2026) were 5-star; one was 1-star and was answered by Goldco.

What public records did we check?

A search that finds nothing does not prove nothing exists.

Goldco: court opinion. In Goldco Direct, LLC v. Warren Wilson, Wholesale Gold Silver IRA, Inc., and Wild West Coins, Inc., No. 4:18-CV-850-KOB, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama issued an opinion on March 27, 2019. Goldco was the plaintiff. The court denied Mr. Wilson's motions to dismiss and to transfer. We did not find the outcome and do not characterize the claims.

Goldco: settlement. ClassAction.org reports that Goldco Direct LLC agreed to a $2,000,000 settlement in Summerton v. Goldco Direct LLC, a class action that alleged it sent excessive marketing texts to people on the Do Not Call Registry. A settlement is an agreement to resolve a case, not a finding of liability.

Patriot Gold Group. A web search of CFTC, SEC, FTC and state sites with enforcement terms found nothing naming the company, as of our 2026-10-15 check. That is a limited search.

Where do each company's own pages disagree?

Goldco

• Annual account fee: $125 (cost page) versus "around $80" (FAQ); yearly total about $225, "ballpark of $200" or $200 to $300 depending on the page.
• Minimum: "generally require a minimum of $25,000" (cost page); the minimum article sets no account minimum and says "it depends," while noting that fees could make a very small account impractical.
• Buyback: three-year condition (5 Reasons footnote) versus "highest buyback guarantee PLUS no fees" (About page).
• Ratings and awards: the home page headline reads "Join America's Top Rated Gold IRA Company," while the About page carries "#1" and "Best" claims, and says "#1 Precious Metals Company on the 2025 INC5000" where the home page cites "Pacific Ranked #18" in the Inc. regionals. We repeat none of these as fact.

Patriot Gold Group

• Award years: the home page description says "top-rated gold and silver coin dealer in 2016 and 2017"; image alt text says 2016, 2017 and 2018; the About page badge says "2016 to 2021"; and About page text says 2016 to 2025. The home page also says it is "rated the #1 Gold IRA dealer in the U.S." We do not repeat these claims as fact.
• Rating counts: pages show both "based on 770 ratings" and "based on 58 ratings."

What differs and what does not?

Differences stated on the companies' pages

• Goldco states a $25,000 general minimum; Patriot states no dollar minimum.
• Goldco states setup, annual and storage fees in dollars (with conflicting annual figures); Patriot states none in dollars and advertises "No Fees for Life on Qualifying IRAs."
• Goldco states buyback wording; we found none for Patriot.
• Goldco's pages describe storage at "bullion depositories"; Patriot's pages describe "private storage" and holding metal "in your own hands," and its brochure (file name indicates January 2020; as of our 2026-10-15 check) names two storage providers.
• On BBB, per owner screenshots, Goldco shows 72 complaints in three years and Patriot shows 0, which says nothing by itself (see cautions above).
• We found a 2019 court opinion and a reported $2,000,000 settlement involving Goldco, and no court record involving Patriot. Our search for Patriot was limited.

Things that do not differ in what we found

• Neither names a custodian on its opened web pages.
• Neither discloses a markup or spread.
• BBB shows an A+ rating for both and lists both as California LLCs.
• Both make "top rated" or "#1" claims that differ across their own pages.
• Both include disclaimers about advice: Goldco's Terms say it does not give financial advice; Patriot's pages say it does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice.

What questions could you ask each company?

Ask for answers in writing before you sign or fund anything.

Questions to ask Goldco

1. Which IRA custodian and which depository would hold my account, and where can I read their fee schedules?
2. Your cost page says the annual account fee is $125 and your FAQ says about $80. Which applies, and who receives each fee?
3. What is the markup or spread on each product I would buy, in dollars and as a percentage, compared with the spot price on the day?
4. Please send the customer agreement now. Does it include arbitration, a class waiver or a governing-law clause?
5. How does the buyback guarantee work in practice, including the three-year condition and "no specific buy back rates guaranteed"? What would I receive if I sold back tomorrow?
6. Would you accept less than $25,000 for an IRA?

Questions to ask Patriot Gold Group

1. What does "qualifying IRA" mean in "No Fees for Life," and what amount, if any, is the minimum account value?
2. Which custodian and which depository would hold my account, and are they the same ones named in your brochure?
3. If you cover fees for life, what exactly is covered (setup, annual, storage, insurance, transfer, liquidation), and is that written in the agreement?
4. What is the markup or spread on each product, compared with the spot price on the day?
5. Do you buy back metal you sold me? If so, on what terms, and what would I receive if I sold back tomorrow?
6. What are the eligibility terms for the "Free Silver Coin With Phone Qualification" offer?

For other head-to-head pages, see Noble Gold Investments vs Patriot Gold Group.

How was this page researched?

On 2026-10-18 we re-opened the Goldco pages and sources listed in the citations above, and the Patriot pages and Delaware Depository home page listed there.

We did not re-open BBB, the CFPB database, BrokerCheck, the CFTC advisory or Patriot's brochure on 2026-10-18; those come from our 2026-10-15 check and are labeled that way. We read neither sales agreement and searched no state regulator or court docket. Company claims are written as claims. Complaints and lawsuits are allegations unless a court has issued a judgment or order, and settlements are described as settlements. This page makes no recommendation. We plan to update it quarterly or sooner if a company changes its pages.