Goldco Review: Fees, Minimums, Custodians, Complaints

Is Goldco legitimate, and what does it charge?

This page is part of our Gold IRA Companies Compared library and follows our company research methodology.

We do not give verdicts on companies. We show what Goldco says about itself, what independent records we could open, and what we could not check.

On fees, Goldco's own pages do not agree with each other. Its cost article states a $50 one-time setup fee, a $125 annual account fee, and storage of $100 a year (non-segregated) or $150 a year (segregated). Another Goldco page says "around $80" for the annual account fee. A third gives only a range of $200 to $300 a year. We lay all three out below.

On the minimum, Goldco's pages say it "generally" requires $25,000. We found no published spread (the gap between its selling and buyback prices), and no named custodian or depository.

Who is Goldco?

Goldco's home page calls it "America's Top Rated Gold IRA Company" in its headline, and says "we have helped thousands of Americans place over $3 Billion in gold and silver." Both are marketing statements. We have no independent source for either, and we do not repeat them as fact.

Goldco's privacy policy identifies the company as "Goldco Direct LLC." BBB's profile, as described below, shows the name Goldco with the alternate name Goldco Direct LLC, a Calabasas, California address, and lists Trevor Gerszt as founder and CEO. BBB says it does not verify information supplied by businesses. Goldco's own About page, as we read it, does not state a founding year, a headquarters address or the names of its executives.

Goldco sells gold and silver for Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and for direct purchase. Everything in this section is the company describing itself, or a profile whose business-supplied parts BBB does not verify.

Quick facts at a glance

How does a Gold IRA with Goldco work?

A Gold IRA is a self-directed IRA that holds physical metal instead of mutual funds or stocks. Usually three companies play three roles, and the dealer is only one of them.

• The dealer sells you the metal. Here, that is Goldco.
• The custodian legally holds your IRA, keeps the records and sends the tax forms.
• The depository is the secure vault where the metal is kept.

Our guide to the custodian, the dealer and the depository explains why the company selling to you is not the company holding your account. You will have agreements and fee schedules from more than one place.

Goldco's articles describe the process in general terms. The 5 Steps article says Goldco "works with established gold IRA custodians who have years of experience managing precious metals" and "established bullion depositories who have vast experience storing precious metals." The FAQ article says Goldco "works directly with mints around the world to source gold coins." The home page says "Your statement is provided by your IRA Custodian, not Goldco." None of those pages names the custodian.

For a plain-English overview of how rollovers work, see how a Gold IRA works. If your money sits in an old employer plan, our guide on rolling a 401(k) into a Gold IRA covers the paperwork.

What does Goldco say the fees are?

Here is what three different Goldco pages say. They were read on October 15, 2026. The cost article says it was "originally published in March 2023 and was updated in February 2025." The other two show dates only in page metadata: the FAQ article was published January 19, 2024 and modified September 3, 2024, and the minimum article was published April 28, 2023 and modified March 21, 2025. Both discuss contribution limits from earlier years.

Using the cost article's numbers, $50 + $125 + $100 comes to $275 in year one for non-segregated storage, and $50 + $125 + $150 comes to $325 for segregated. After the first year, $125 + $100 is $225, and $125 + $150 is $275. The article's own "$225" figure matches only the non-segregated case.

Three pages from one company giving three sets of numbers is a reason to ask for the fee schedule that applies to your own account, in writing and dated, before moving money.

The FAQ article says fees are often flat, so they do not grow with account size. The minimum article gives a worked example. It says $300 in fees on a small contribution is a high percentage, and that $300 on a $100,000 rollover is 0.30%. A flat fee takes a bigger bite out of a small account.

The account fee and the storage fee are two separate charges. The custodian normally sets the first. The depository, or the custodian passing the depository's charge along, sets the second. Our guides to custodian fees, storage fees and hidden fees explain each. We could not read the custodian's or depository's own schedule for Goldco accounts, because we could not find who they are.

What is the minimum, and who does it leave out?

The cost article says "we generally require a minimum of $25,000 to start a gold IRA." The FAQ article says "we generally require that you have at least $25,000 available to roll over into a gold IRA," and adds that the threshold keeps fees from taking too large a share of the account.

The minimum article takes a different tone. It says "You really don't need much to start a gold IRA in theory, just earned income to contribute to an IRA and enough money to buy gold," and concludes that the answer is "it depends." The first two describe what Goldco requires, while the third discusses what the law allows. A reader looking for one number will find two stories.

Two promotional figures are not minimums. A footnote on the 5 Reasons page says "Get up to 5% back in FREE Silver when you purchase $50,000 – $99,999 in Goldco premium coins," and "Get 10% in FREE Silver when you purchase $100,000 or more in Goldco premium coins." Because the free silver is tied to "premium coins," ask what those coins cost compared with bullion and how the free silver is valued. We did not find that explained.

A $25,000 starting point means that, for some savers, this kind of account would use a large share of their retirement money. Our pages on minimum investment and allocation and concentration risk explain why position size matters. A fee-only financial planner or tax professional can help you decide what share is right.

What do you pay for the metal itself?

The spot price is the current market price for one troy ounce of the metal. A dealer sells above spot (the added amount is the premium, or markup) and buys back below spot. The difference between the selling price and the buyback price is the spread. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) puts it this way in its customer advisory on buying physical metals: "A dealer will always sell metal above the spot price and buy it back below the spot price." The advisory also says, "If fees are not available in writing before your purchase, that is a red flag," and suggests you "Ask how much you would receive if you had to sell back the metal tomorrow."

What do the Goldco pages we opened say about pricing? On the pages we read, they do not state a markup, premium or spread for any product. The comparison article "Not Costco... Goldco!" does not state markups or fees on Goldco's products, and it does not compare Goldco's prices with anyone else's. It says that with gold in an IRA, "you pay normal income taxes, not the collectible tax rate." That concerns tax treatment, not price, and a tax professional should confirm how it applies to you. See how dealer premiums work.

A simple made-up example shows why the spread matters. This is not Goldco's spread. Suppose you buy $50,000 of coins and, on the day you sell, the buyback price for the same coins is 5% lower, with the market price of gold unchanged. You would receive $47,500. To get back to $50,000, the buyback price would have to rise about 5.3%. So for every product you are quoted, ask for the sale price, the spot price at the time of the quote, and the current buyback price, all in writing.

What does Goldco say about buying back your metals?

Goldco's pages describe a buyback program in promotional terms. Here are the statements we found, in Goldco's words.

• The home page says Goldco offers a Buy Back program "guaranteed at the highest price," which the page ties to a time when your "circumstances change."
• The 5 Reasons page says: "Goldco guarantees to buy back your metals at the highest price."
• The same page has a footnote saying "Goldco will buy back metals purchased from Goldco at any time."
• That footnote also says: "The highest price buy back guarantee applies after three years from initial purchase from Goldco."
• And it says: "No specific buy back rates guaranteed."
• The "Not Costco... Goldco!" page says "Goldco offers a Highest Buyback Guarantee if you decide you want to sell your gold back to Goldco at a later time."

Read together, these statements leave several things unclear. What does "highest price" mean: highest compared to what, on what day, and set by whom? What happens to a sale in the first three years, when the page says the "highest price" guarantee does not yet apply? And since "No specific buy back rates" are guaranteed, what exactly is promised? We cannot answer these from the pages. Get the exact written terms before buying.

Our guide on buyback policies and liquidation costs explains what a "buyback guarantee" can and cannot promise, and our page on liquidity risk covers the case where you need cash quickly.

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

None of the Goldco pages we opened names the IRA custodian. The 5 Steps page says Goldco "works with established gold IRA custodians," and the "Not Costco... Goldco!" page refers to "experienced IRA custodians." We did not find a list. So we cannot tell you which fee schedule would apply to your account, whether the custodian is on the IRS's list of approved nonbank trustees, or how the custodian is regulated. Our guide on custodian requirements explains what the law asks for.

Storage is similar. Goldco's FAQ article says it "works with established bullion depositories that offer state of the art security," and that storage fees depend on the location and on whether storage is segregated or non-segregated. Our guide on segregated and commingled storage explains that difference.

Goldco's website also has an article about Delaware Depository. It says it was originally published in March 2022 and updated in November 2025, and it describes the depository as "one of the most reputable depository institutions" and says it "maintains $1 billion in all-risk insurance." It does not say whether Goldco uses Delaware Depository, so we do not state that it does. Those statements are Goldco's description of another company, and we did not open the depository's own site. Ask for insurance details in writing from whichever depository would hold your metal. Our guides to IRA metals insurance and to how to verify your metals list what to request.

On shipping, Goldco's terms page says "Orders made with Goldco are shipped Registered/Insured U.S. Mail, UPS & Federal Express upon receipt of good funds," and "All packages are fully insured for the value of the products contained and may require a signature upon delivery." That text sits under a "Deliveries" heading and concerns orders shipped by Goldco. We did not see how it applies to IRA metals.

What does Goldco say about education, awards and ratings?

We report these as Goldco's claims.

• The home page says "Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau," "Rated Triple A by Business Consumer Alliance," and "Earned over 8,000+ 5-Star Customer Ratings." Badges on the page carry text such as "Consumer Affairs Gives Goldco 4.9 Star Rating" and "Google Gives Goldco 4.9 Star Rating."
• The home page lists awards including "Inc. 5000 Award Recipient, 9 Years" and "2025 Bronze Stevie Award, Fastest Growing Company." The 5 Reasons page lists a 2026 award from Money.com for customer service.
• The About page also lists awards and describes Goldco as "the most rated precious metals company verified on Google, TrustPilot, Consumer Affairs, Retirement Living," and the Better Business Bureau.

We did not open the award publishers' pages, the Business Consumer Alliance, ConsumerAffairs, Google or Trustpilot, so we cannot say how any score was calculated, when it was collected, or whether money changed hands. The "8,000+" figure is not tied to a platform or date on the pages we read. These are not our ratings. Our guides on how review sites make money and on fake and incentivized reviews explain how to read ratings.

Goldco's About and Terms pages also say "we are not licensed financial advisors and do not give financial advice," and that Goldco "cannot provide tax or legal advice." The CFTC suggests asking the people you speak with how they are paid.

What does Goldco's BBB profile show?

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) publishes business profiles, customer reviews and complaint records. Our tools could not open BBB pages. Everything below comes from screenshots of Goldco's BBB pages that the owner of this site viewed on October 15, 2026 and transcribed for us. Treat these figures as unverified by us beyond what the screenshots show.

How to read the BBB figures

The A+ is BBB's letter grade. The 4.81 is something different: an average of star ratings that customers wrote, a measure BBB does not treat as its rating. The two should not be mixed up. Of the ten most recent reviews visible in the screenshots, dated October 1 to 7, 2026, nine were five stars and one was a one-star review, with a reply from Goldco dated October 7, 2026. We draw no conclusion from ten reviews out of 1,716.

BBB's page says it does not verify information from third parties, does not endorse any business, and that the nature of complaints and responses can matter more than the number of complaints. It also says a profile generally covers a three-year reporting period. The profile also carries a company-supplied notice saying that consumers may file a BBB complaint at any time and that Goldco invites consumers with complaints to contact its customer service department directly.

The BBB complaint counts

BBB's complaints page shows 72 total complaints in the last 3 years and 36 complaints filed in the last 12 months. BBB adds a note that the complaint text shown may not represent all complaints filed with BBB, that some consumers choose not to publish details, and that BBB may display only a portion of complaints when it receives a high volume. Goldco's 1,716 customer reviews are a separate measure and do not offset the complaint counts.

The page lists many complaints with business responses. The site owner read only the first two in detail, and we write only about those, as allegations. All complaints are consumers' allegations. Business responses are the company's statements. No judgment or order appears on the page.

• A complaint dated 08/25/2026 was categorized as customer service issues. A family member alleged being unable to confirm access to an inherited account. Goldco responded on 09/03/2026 that the person was not shown as an authorized party and should have the authorized party contact it.
• A complaint dated 08/21/2026 alleged deceptive sales representations and excessive markups on specialty coins, and an obstructed liquidation. We do not know the outcome, and we repeat no amounts.

We did not read the remaining complaints and state nothing about them.

What do the website terms say?

When you use a website, you agree to its terms. These are not the same as the sales agreement you sign to buy metal. We did not see Goldco's sales agreement or account application, so we cannot describe those.

The page at goldco.com/terms-and-conditions/ is titled "Terms & Conditions," but the text we read reads like a privacy policy with additional sections on text messaging, customer testimonials, deliveries and a disclaimer. The headings included "Text Messaging" and "Customer Testimonials." We searched that page for arbitration, jurisdiction, governing law and waiver language and did not find any. The privacy policy page, which identifies "Goldco Direct LLC," refers to "our terms of use" but contains no arbitration or governing-law language that we could find either.

That means we cannot tell you how a dispute with Goldco would be handled. Arbitration clauses and class action waivers are often in the agreement you sign rather than on the website. Ask for the sales agreement and account documents, and read the dispute section before you send money. This is not legal advice; a lawyer can review a contract before you sign.

The Terms page's disclaimer says "Goldco cannot guarantee, assure, or promise future market movement, prices, or profits." Nothing on this page is a forecast.

What public records did we check?

Our methodology lists the records we look for on every company. Here is what happened for Goldco, as of October 15, 2026. We are as clear about what we could not do as about what we did.

Court records we found

Goldco as plaintiff. In Goldco Direct, LLC v. Wilson, No. 4:18-CV-850-KOB, the Northern District of Alabama opinion dated March 27, 2019 lists Goldco Direct, LLC as the plaintiff and Warren Wilson, Wholesale Gold Silver IRA, Inc. and Wild West Coins, Inc. as defendants. The opinion rules on one defendant's motions: it denied a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and a motion to transfer the case to the Central District of California. It does not decide who was right on the underlying claims, and we did not see how the case ended.

A class action settlement. Two reports, from ClassAction.org and TCPAWorld, describe Summerton v. Goldco Direct in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The plaintiff alleged that Goldco sent more than one marketing text message to people who had asked to stop receiving them and whose numbers were on the National Do-Not-Call Registry, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal law on marketing calls and texts. Both reports say the case ended in a $2 million class settlement. ClassAction.org lists a final approval hearing for March 26, 2026 and a claim deadline of April 10, 2026. TCPAWorld, dated March 27, 2026, reports that the court granted approval.

Three limits apply. These are secondary reports, not the court's own documents, because we could not open the docket. The reports do not say whether Goldco admitted any wrongdoing, so we do not suggest it did. And the lawsuit concerned text-message marketing, not metals, fees or IRA accounts. A settlement is an agreement to resolve a case. It is not a finding that the allegations were true.

What we did not check

We could not query the CFPB database, FINRA BrokerCheck, SEC EDGAR, NFA BASIC, state securities or consumer-protection agencies, PACER, CourtListener or state court dockets. We make no claim that Goldco has, or has not, been the subject of a lawsuit, regulatory action or complaint outside the records above. A search that finds nothing is not proof that nothing exists. Our guide on how to verify a dealer walks through those databases, and our precious metals enforcement database will list cases we confirm.

What should you ask Goldco before you sign anything?

Ask for answers in writing.

1. Which custodian and which depository would hold my account, and may I see each one's current fee schedule? None of the Goldco pages we opened names them.
2. Which fee figures apply to me? Goldco's pages give $125 and "around $80" for the annual account fee, and different storage ranges.
3. What are the sale price, the spot price and the buyback price for each product I am quoted? Ask for all three at the same time.
4. What does the "highest price" buyback guarantee mean in dollars, and what happens before the three-year point? The 5 Reasons page also says no specific buyback rates are guaranteed.
5. If I receive bonus silver, how is it valued, and is the price of the "premium coins" higher than for other products?
6. What will the custodian charge when I sell, take a distribution, transfer out or close the account?
7. How are your representatives paid? The CFTC suggests asking this directly.
8. What are my cancellation rights, and which legal entity am I contracting with?
9. May I see the sales agreement, including any arbitration terms, before I send any money?

See also how to evaluate a Gold IRA company.

What are the risks that apply no matter which company you pick?

No dealer, custodian or depository can remove the basic risks of owning physical metal. Gold and silver prices go up and down, and our guide on price volatility explains how large the swings have been. Counterparty risk, meaning the chance that a company you depend on fails to do its part, is covered in our counterparty risk guide. We do not predict prices, and nothing on this page should be read as a forecast.

How does this compare with other companies?

We publish every company review on the same set of fields so you can read them side by side, and we do not rank them. See, for example, our reviews of Augusta Precious Metals and Birch Gold Group. Side-by-side pages are planned, including Augusta Precious Metals vs Goldco, Birch Gold Group vs Goldco and Goldco vs Noble Gold Investments.

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

On October 15, 2026 we opened Goldco's home page, About page, Terms & Conditions page, Privacy Policy and these articles: the cost article, the Gold IRA FAQ article, the minimum-investment article, "5 Reasons to Buy Gold From Goldco," "Not Costco... Goldco!," "5 Steps to Starting a Gold IRA," and the Delaware Depository article. We also opened the CFTC's customer advisory, the 2019 Alabama federal court opinion, and two reports on a class settlement. We reviewed screenshots of Goldco's BBB profile, reviews and complaints pages. Goldco's own FAQ page at goldco.com/faqs/ returned an error, so we did not read it. Anything that came only from Goldco is written as Goldco's statement.

Fees, terms and company information are reviewed every three months under our update policy, and sooner if a regulator announces an action or a reader reports an error. If something here is out of date, please tell us through our corrections page.

This page is general information, not personalized advice. Decisions about your retirement savings depend on your own situation, so talk with a qualified financial planner, tax professional or attorney before you act.