About Our Reviews: How We Rate Gold IRA Companies (2026)

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I have been researching and writing about gold IRA companies for more than twenty years, and the question I get most is simple: “Which company can I actually trust?” Star ratings on review sites only answer half of that. A dealer can have glowing reviews and still sell you a coin at twice what it is worth. So the GIG Global Rating combines what customers say with what I have learned matters most: what a company actually sells you, at what markup, and how openly it does it.

Factor 1: Pricing and Product Focus (25%)

This is the factor that separates our rankings from a simple review roundup, and it is the biggest reason a company lands at the top or bottom of our list.

Gold IRA companies make most of their money on the spread between what they pay for metal and what they charge you. On standard bullion such as American Gold Eagles, Gold Buffalos, Canadian Maple Leafs and common bars, that markup is usually small, the price is easy to check against spot, and you can sell the coin almost anywhere. Premium coins are a different story. You will hear them called semi-numismatic, exclusive, rare, low-mintage, low-circulation, limited-edition or proof coins. They often carry premiums of 30% to 50% or more over the metal value, and some companies have charged as much as 100% over spot.

That is not a theoretical risk. In 2023 the CFTC and state regulators charged Red Rock Secured with telling customers markups were 4% to 29% while actually charging roughly 100% to 130% on the coins it sold, much of it through retirement accounts. (I cover that case in my Red Rock Secured review.)

Premium coins are not all bad. Proof coins have a better finish, more shine and more luster, and some collector coins do command higher prices later, which is why collectors buy them. But realizing that value takes knowledge, patience and the right buyer, and there is no guarantee you ever get the premium back. For retirement savings I believe the goal should be the most gold for your money. My guide to proof, uncirculated and bullion coins explains the difference in detail.

How I score it without mystery shopping: prices are custom-quoted on the phone and change daily, so a one-time quote would be out of date within a week. Instead I look at what each company features in its catalog and its marketing, whether it publishes prices or regular low-premium specials, what customers report being pitched (the 1- and 2-star reviews are especially telling), any regulatory filings about markups, and what I have seen first-hand from working with these companies over the years.

Factor 2: Customer Reputation (25%)

This is the original GIG Global Rating formula, and it still forms the reputation score. I gather ratings only from independent review platforms that have no affiliate or financial relationship with the companies they rate:

• Better Business Bureau (BBB)
• Business Consumer Alliance (BCA)
• Trustpilot
• TrustLink
• Google Business Profile
• Yelp
• Facebook
• ShopperApproved
• Sitejabber
• Yellow Pages

Instead of a plain average, I use a weighted mean, so a site with 1,000 reviews counts far more than a site with three. Each site's average rating is multiplied by its number of reviews, those results are added up, and the total is divided by the combined number of reviews:

Here is how that played out for two fictional companies. Company X had 4.8 stars from 300 BBB reviews, 4.5 stars from 120 Google reviews and 1 star from 3 Yelp reviews, for a reputation score of 4.7:

Company Y had 4 stars from 100 Trustpilot reviews, 3.8 from 1,200 TrustLink reviews, and a handful of low ratings on Yelp, Facebook and Google, for a score of 3.8:

What changed in 2026:

• Sites with fewer than 10 reviews for a company are left out, because a handful of reviews can swing too far either way.
• Reviews from the last 24 months carry more weight than older ones, since staff, ownership and pricing change.
• I read the negative reviews, not just the stars. A pattern of complaints about being pressured into premium coins counts against the pricing factor, too.
• Every review lists the date I last checked each profile.

Factor 3: Transparency, Leadership and Marketing (20%)

A company that is confident in its pricing tends to show it. I give credit for published prices or price examples, a published fee schedule, written quotes, clear buyback terms and a named custodian and depository.

Leadership matters too. I want to know who I am dealing with, and so should you. Companies whose founders and executives are named, public and accountable, the way Noble Gold founder Collin Plume is very visible, score better. A company that hides its management team, or lists no one at all on its website, LinkedIn or state filings, is a red flag in my book and loses points here.

This factor also covers celebrity and political endorsements, and I want to be upfront about my view here. Paid ambassador deals with television hosts, commentators and politicians can cost millions of dollars, and some reportedly pay the endorser on every sale. That money has to come from somewhere, and in my opinion it usually comes from the buyer in the form of higher markups. A famous spokesperson tells you how much a company spends on marketing, not how it treats customers, so a heavy reliance on paid endorsers counts against a company in this score. The FTC's guidance on endorsements, influencers and reviews is a good primer on how those relationships are supposed to be disclosed.

Factor 4: Fees, Minimums and Account Options (15%)

For gold IRAs, I compare one-time setup and wire fees, annual custodian fees, storage fees (and whether segregated storage costs extra), and the minimum purchase. I also look at choice: whether you can pick from more than one IRA custodian, which IRS-approved depositories the company works with, whether segregated storage is offered, and whether it handles Roth, SEP and 401(k) rollovers as well as traditional IRAs. Flat fees score better than fees that scale with your balance, and promotions such as a waived first year only count when the terms are published. For cash purchases, I look at shipping, insurance and any small-order fees.

Factor 5: Longevity and Track Record (15%)

Time in business matters in an industry where companies come and go. I look at years operating, ownership changes, the number and pattern of BBB complaints relative to the company's size, and any history with regulators such as the CFTC, the SEC or state securities and consumer protection agencies.

Red Flags That Cap a Score

Some problems outweigh any number of good reviews. When one of these applies, the Global Rating is capped no matter how the other factors score:

How We Rate IRA Custodians

Custodians such as Equity Trust or Kingdom Trust hold your IRA but do not sell metals, so the pricing and product factor does not apply. Their Global Rating uses customer reputation (35%), fees (30%), transparency and service (20%) and longevity and track record (15%). You can compare them on our gold IRA custodians page.

How We Rate Local Coin Shops

A brick-and-mortar coin shop is a different kind of business from an online gold IRA company. You can walk in, see the live buy and sell prices on the board, hold the coin before you pay and leave with it the same day. Rating a shop on the same scale as a phone-based IRA dealer would not be fair to either, so local dealers get their own version of the Global Rating:

One note on local reviews: coin shops tend to score lower on Google and Yelp than online dealers, mostly because people selling coins expect retail prices and a dealer can only pay wholesale. I read the pattern of complaints, not just the stars, before scoring reputation.

What the Ratings Mean

How We Make Money, and Why It Does Not Change a Score

Gold IRA Guide is reader-supported. Some of the companies we review pay us a commission when a reader becomes a customer, and our disclosure page explains exactly how that works. A partnership never buys a higher rating or a better spot in our rankings, and partners are scored on the same five factors as everyone else. The reason a company like Noble Gold sits near the top is its focus on standard bullion at competitive markups, not its relationship with us.

Updates and Corrections

I recheck every company at least once a year, and sooner when there is news: a regulatory action, a closure, an ownership change or a sharp move in customer reviews. Retirees have been targeted by precious metals fraud often enough that regulators launched a joint effort to warn them, and my guide to gold scams lists the warning signs. If you represent a company we review, or you spot anything inaccurate, please contact us and I will correct anything that can be verified. You can read more about who we are on our about page.

FAQ: How Our Ratings Work