Advantage Gold makes money on the metal it sells, by building a markup over the spot price into the price of the coins and bars it buys for your account. The yearly administration and storage fees go to two other firms, the custodian that runs the IRA and the depository that holds the metal.
That split tells you which number belongs to Advantage Gold. The markup is the company’s pay, it sits inside the price it quotes you when you order, and you pay it once, at the time of purchase. Advantage Gold quotes its markup per order, inside the price, so the written quote is where you check it before the account funds.
How the markup over spot works
Spot is the market price of an ounce of gold, silver, platinum or palladium at a given moment, and it moves throughout the trading day. A dealer sells a coin or bar at spot plus a markup, and the difference between the two is the dealer’s revenue. At a full-service dealer it covers the account executive, the paperwork and the rollover.
The markup applies to the purchase, which means it does not come back each year. A buyer who holds the metal for a decade pays it once on the way in. After that the metal sits at the depository, and only the yearly custodian and storage fees run against it. Those fees are flat dollar amounts that stay the same at any balance, so they are the part of the cost you can add up in advance.
The spread and premium page shows where the markup appears on an order, and the ten-year cost page adds up the fees over a decade beside other dealers.
What Advantage Gold does for the markup
Advantage Gold was founded in 2014 in Austin, Texas, and reports over $1 billion in sales. Alongside the metal itself, its side of the account is the service around it. The custodial application takes about 30 minutes or less with an account executive, and Advantage Gold then runs the rollover as a full-service job with the custodian so you are not chasing your old plan administrator. When the funds arrive, the company buys the metal you pick, packs it, insures it and ships it to the depository.
Advantage Gold’s education costs nothing to use. The library includes a 10-chapter Gold IRA beginner’s guide, 10 short FAQ videos, a podcast of about 20 minutes an episode with transcripts and a free one-on-one call with an account executive before you commit to anything.
Where the account fees go
A gold IRA needs a custodian to run the account and a depository to hold the metal, and both are separate firms that charge for their work. You choose between STRATA Trust Company and Equity Trust Company for the custodian, and between Brink's Global Services USA (Los Angeles or Salt Lake City) and Delaware Depository (Wilmington, DE) for storage.
| Fee | Amount | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | $50 once | Opening the self-directed IRA with the custodian |
| Annual administration | $100 a year | The custodian’s records, IRS filings and statements |
| Storage, commingled | $100 a year | The depository holding and insuring your metal in a shared pool |
| Storage, segregated | $175 a year | The depository holding your own coins and bars apart |
| Wire transfer | $30 per wire | Moving funds by wire |
Together the yearly lines come to $200 with commingled storage, and they stay flat whatever the size of the account. The full fee breakdown puts every line in one place.
Direct purchases and selling back
Advantage Gold also sells metal outside an IRA through its online shop, with insured delivery to your door or to a depository. Those direct purchases carry shipping and insurance charges on top of the metal price, which do not apply to metal bought inside an IRA and shipped straight to the depository.
When you want to sell, Advantage Gold offers a buyback service on request, and its FAQ says “We’ll never turn away a customer.” The buyback page covers how a sale back to the company works.
Some IRA-eligible product pages also name a First Time Gold Investor Advantage program for new buyers, which is worth raising with the account executive if this is your first gold purchase.
How Gold IRA Digest earns
Gold IRA Digest earns from partners, including Advantage Gold. When you request information or follow a link to a partner through this site, we may be paid. That pay does not change the figures on this page, which were checked on April 17, 2026 against our fee database, where Advantage Gold’s fee figures are sourced to LendEDU’s review. Our disclosure explains how partner compensation works and how we handle it.
Who it fits, and who should look elsewhere
A markup-over-spot model suits a buyer who wants one clear place where the dealer’s pay sits and who plans to hold metal for years. The markup is paid once, inside the quoted price, and the yearly fees stay flat at $200. It also suits a first-time buyer, since the $5,000 minimum lets a small rollover start on the same terms as a large one.
The $5,000 minimum puts an account out of reach below that balance. Advantage Gold also shares its fee details on the call rather than posting them online, and it works by phone and contact form rather than live chat. To weigh other dealers on the same basis, compare matched companies.
To talk through the quote on the metals you have in mind, go to Advantage Gold's site. The full Advantage Gold review has the rest of the picture, and our gold IRA fees guide explains how these fees work across the industry.
Common questions
How does Advantage Gold make money?
Advantage Gold sells physical metals at a price above spot, and the markup built into that price is its revenue on a gold IRA. The custodian and the depository bill the account's yearly fees.
How much is Advantage Gold's markup over spot?
Advantage Gold builds its markup into the price it quotes when you order, so request the figure in writing before the account funds. It is paid once, when the metal is bought.
What do the setup, administration and storage fees pay for?
The $50 setup fee opens the IRA with the custodian, STRATA Trust Company or Equity Trust Company. The $100 yearly administration fee covers the custodian's records and IRS filings, and storage runs $100 a year commingled or $175 a year segregated.
Does Gold IRA Digest earn money from Advantage Gold?
Yes. Gold IRA Digest earns from partners including Advantage Gold, and the disclosure page explains how partner compensation works and how it relates to our reviews.
Ready to talk to Advantage Gold?
Advantage Gold is a paid partner. Details on our disclosure page.