Best Gold & Silver Companies 2026
Invest in gold as value continues to increase and protect your retirement savings from inflation, while still enjoying the tax benefits of a traditional IRA. We've compared the best gold companies offering self-directed gold IRAs to help you get started.
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Top Gold Company on the Inc. 5000 List and A+ Rated on BBB
- Up to $25K in free silver on qualifying purchases
- Same-day IRA Processing - Start Instantly
- No Buy-Back Fees - 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: 7 Day Refund
- Free FREEDOM Package: Setup, Insured Shipping, and Secure Storage
Special Offer - Get Up To 10% in Bonus Silver OR Gold
- Highest Industry Buyback Guarantee
- Winners of "Best Customer Service" and "Gold IRA Education" plus only 9X INC5000 Award Recipient
- Over 8,000 5-STAR Reviews from Google, TrustPilot, Consumer Affairs, Retirement Living and the Better Business Bureau
- Endorsed by Sean Hannity, Tom Selleck, and Dennis Quaid
Up to $25k in Free Silver + Zero Account Fees on Qualifying Purchase
- Fast, Free Insured Shipping on Physical Gold & Silver Purchases
- 100% No-Cost IRA Rollover & Buyback Commitment
- Top Gold IRA Company recognized by the Inc. 5000 in 2025
- Rated A+ by the BBB and 5-star Reviews on Trustpilot and Google
No Fee Buy-Back Program
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100% American Owned Company
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Offers Free Shipping and Insurance on All Orders
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5-Star Rating with the BBB and Trustpilot
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Up to $25k in Free silver on qualifying purchases
Over $3 Billion In Trusted Transactions
- Up to $15,000 in Bonus Coins on New Orders*
- 24-hour Risk-free Purchase Guarantee
- Zero Fees on All First-year Trades
Trusted by 100K+ Investors
- Save up to $35,000 in fees
- 100% buyback success rate since 2012
- 0 complaints with the BBB and 5,000+ 5-star ratings
- Named ‘Best Overall’ Gold IRA on Money.com
selected this partner
selected this partner
Top Gold Company on the Inc. 5000 List and A+ Rated on BBB
- Up to $25K in free silver on qualifying purchases
- Same-day IRA Processing - Start Instantly
- No Buy-Back Fees - 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: 7 Day Refund
- Free FREEDOM Package: Setup, Insured Shipping, and Secure Storage
Why are people investing in gold?
After years of hard work, protecting your retirement savings is essential. With inflation, market volatility, and economic uncertainty, many Americans are turning to gold to safeguard their assets.
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Gold as a hedge against inflation: Gold has long been a reliable asset in times of market turmoil, offering protection against inflation and recession.
- Diversification: Adding gold to your portfolio can help reduce risk and volatility. Gold-backed IRAs contribute to a well-diversified retirement plan, potentially preserving your account's value during market downturns.
How to Set up a Precious Metals IRA?
Many people are diversifying their retirement funds by investing in gold through a “Self-Directed IRA.” Unlike a traditional IRA, a Self-Directed IRA allows individuals to invest in a broader range of assets, and invest in precious metals—while benefiting from similar tax advantages as a standard IRA. We’ve compared the best online gold dealers and best precious metal companies to help you get started. Once you choose the gold provider that best fits your financial goals, their investment experts can guide you through the process and suggest the best gold to buy for your gold IRA.
- Step 1: Open Your Self-Directed IRA
To open a Self-Directed IRA, many people typically work with a reputable Gold IRA company such as our top picks compared above. The best gold and silver companies have teams of specialists that can guide you through every step of the process, ensuring a smooth and efficient setup of your Gold IRA.
- Step 2: Fund Your Self-Directed IRA
The best way to buy gold to fund your Self-Directed IRA is by simply rolling over or transferring assets from an existing retirement account, such as a Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), 401(k), 403(b), or 457 accounts. These rollovers are tax-free, allowing you to protect the value of your assets without investing any additional money. Once your Self-Directed IRA is funded, you can start buying gold as part of your retirement savings right away. You remain in control of your account, and can decide on when to buy or sell.
American Hartford Gold
About American Hartford Gold:
American Hartford Gold, established in 2015, is a family-owned precious metals company specializing in Gold IRAs. They are known for their transparent pricing, excellent customer service, and educational resources, making them a popular choice among investors.
Precious Metals IRA:
With American Hartford Gold, you can diversify your retirement savings by adding physical gold, silver, and platinum through a Precious Metals IRA. This option allows you to hold tangible assets like IRS-approved gold and silver coins, bars, and bullion in your portfolio. Popular choices include American Gold Eagles and Canadian Gold Maple Leafs.
Storage & Security:
American Hartford Gold partners with IRS-approved depositories like Delaware Depository and Brinks for secure storage of IRA metals. These facilities offer 24/7 monitoring, advanced security, and insurance. Clients can choose segregated or non-segregated storage and select domestic or international locations.
How To Open an Account:
To set up a Gold IRA with American Hartford Gold, contact their team to open a self-directed IRA. Once the account is established, you can transfer or roll over existing retirement funds. Next, you'll select IRS-approved precious metals like gold, silver, or platinum to include in your IRA. The company then arranges secure storage for your metals in an IRS-approved depository, ensuring compliance with all regulations. Their specialists guide you through each step of the process.
Goldco Gold IRAs
About Goldco:
Goldco, established over a decade ago, specializes in helping individuals set up Gold IRAs, offering a range of IRS-approved gold and silver products. They are known for providing personalized service, secure storage options, and helping individuals diversify their retirement portfolios.
Precious Metals IRA:
Goldco offers Precious Metals IRAs, giving you the option to diversify with gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. You can select from a variety of IRS-approved coins and bars, including American Gold Eagles, Canadian Gold Maple Leafs, silver bullion, as well as platinum and palladium products.
Storage & Security:
Goldco partners with IRS-approved depositories, such as Delaware Depository and Brinks, for secure storage of precious metals in IRAs. These facilities offer segregated or non-segregated storage options, 24/7 monitoring, advanced security systems, and full insurance coverage to protect clients' assets.
How To Open an Account:
To set up a Goldco account, contact their team to open a self-directed IRA. You'll transfer or roll over funds from an existing retirement account, select approved gold or silver products, and Goldco will arrange secure storage at an IRS-approved depository.
Priority Gold IRA
About Priority Gold:
Priority Gold is a trusted precious metals dealer, highly rated by the Better Business Bureau (A+) and Business Consumer Alliance (AAA). Their expertise helps clients diversify their portfolios with gold and silver, aiming to protect wealth against economic uncertainties.
Precious Metals IRA:
Priority Gold offers a Precious Metals IRA that allows you to roll over retirement funds into gold or silver. This rollover is tax-free and penalty-free, helping secure your future with tangible assets.
Storage & Security:
They provide insured shipping, secure storage for up to five years, and a guaranteed buyback program to ensure peace of mind.
How To Open an Account:
Opening a Priority Gold Precious Metals IRA involves four steps: consulting with their IRA experts, completing the necessary paperwork, transferring funds from an existing retirement account, and selecting the preferred precious metals to invest in.
Thor Metals Group
About Thor Metals Group:
With 18 years in the industry, Thor Metals Group is a U.S.-based precious metals firm specializing in the sale of gold and silver investments, particularly through IRAs, aimed at helping customers hedge against economic uncertainties.
Precious Metals IRA:
Thor Metals offers Precious Metals IRAs, allowing individuals to hold physical gold and silver in a retirement account. Their service includes guidance on asset selection and setup, helping investors diversify and preserve wealth with minimal fees. Invest with your IRA (410k, TSP, 403B, 457) or Wire Funds to Thor Metals Group.
Storage & Security:
The company provides secure storage options for metals, either in IRS-approved depositories for IRAs or direct shipping to clients' homes. Insured shipping and partnerships with certified vaults help protect investments.
How To Open an Account:
To start an account, clients initiate by funding through IRAs or wire transfers. Thor Metals guides users through selecting metals and either storing them in a depository or arranging insured delivery for non-IRA clients.
Lear Capital Gold IRAs
About Lear Capital:
Lear Capital, founded in 1997, is a trusted name in the precious metals industry, and a leading provider of gold and silver IRAs. With over $3 billion in transactions, they focus on helping investors diversify their retirement portfolios with gold, offering a wealth of educational resources and personalized guidance. Lear Capital offers a price match and 24-hour risk-free purchase guarantee.
Precious Metals IRA:
Lear Capital sells IRA-eligible gold and silver in both bars and coins for investors looking to transfer or rollover their IRA or 401k into a self-directed retirement account. The rollover is tax-free and taken care of by a Lear Capital team member and your current IRA custodian. The entire process is detailed in Lear Capital’s Price Advantage Guarantee, which includes a phone confirmation and a written confirmation, as well as a written account agreement.
Storage & Security:
Gold IRAs with Lear Capital are stored in IRS-approved depositories, with a choice of segregated (individual) or commingled (shared) storage.
How To Open an Account:
Setting up a Gold IRA with Lear Capital is simple and guided by experienced professionals. The process is streamlined, with clear instructions and support for rollovers from existing retirement accounts, making it accessible for both new and seasoned investors.
Augusta Precious Metals Gold IRAs
Founded in 2012, Augusta Precious Metals is an online gold IRA provider. The company offers Americans seeking to diversify their retirement savings an opportunity to open a new precious metals IRA and/or roll over existing retirement savings into a precious metals IRA with confidence. The company focuses on delivering a streamlined and transparent purchasing process that helps investors customize their portfolios and diversify their retirement savings.
The company succeeds in making owning precious metals in an IRA very easy. When you contact the company, you're assigned a dedicated sales agent who walks you through the account opening and portfolio-building process. This representative will prepare much of the paperwork required to open a precious metals IRA for you. That's a great feature for customers who are unfamiliar with self-managed IRAs and the precious metals market.
Augusta Precious Metals maintains a helpful education department, through which it provides economic and product information to help retirement savers make informed decisionsThe company provides free support and education for as long as you have a precious metals account with them.
REPUTATION
Augusta Precious Metals is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau, holding an A+ rating with 0 customer complaints. The company has no reviews on Trustpilot, but earns 5 stars from TrustLink. Your IRA deposits are insured by a LLoyd's of London all-risk policy up to a maximum of $1 billion. Augusta Precious Metals earns The Business Consumer Alliance awards highest (AAA) rating. If you research the company, you'll see that it has many favorable reviews from investment- and retiremen-oriented news sources.
FLEXIBILITY
Customers can purchase a gold or silver IRA through Augusta Precious Metals. The process is straightforward, with representatives guiding the customer through the required forms to open an account and fund the IRAs.
The first step is contacting an Augusta customer agent, either directly by phone or by filling out an online form to have one of them call you. The agent will act as your liaison and book an appointment with a representative from the company’s education department. During this meeting, customers learn about the current economic climate, how the gold and silver markets are doing, and how your investment or retirement needs fit into it.
The next step involves the IRA processing team, which helps in the application and funding of the IRA, including transfers and rollovers from existing retirement accounts. After that, the customer decides which products they wish to purchase and safely transfers them to the storage facility.
At any time during the process, Augusta representatives are available to answer any questions and help you build a well-designed precious metals portfolio.
In addition to facilitating retirement investing, Augusta Precious Metals can sell you gold and silver coins and bullion for self-storage outside of an IRA. These purchases do not come with the same tax advantages that saving in an IRA does, but may be of interest to some customers.
FEES, PROMOTIONAL OFFERS AND TRANSPARENCY
Augusta Precious metals he website does not offer details on product prices because the cost of precious metals varies from day to day with the market. Current prices are confirmed and recorded when you speak with one of Augusta’s representatives.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EDUCATION RESOURCES
The company website features the latest market news so customers can keep up with what’s happening in the finance world and get a better understanding of the context of their investments. The resource center has plentiful FAQs, videos, and charts that can provide valuable information to the customer. Theyoffer a highly-informative one-on-one web conference that covers the gold IRA process including fees; the economy, inflation and reasons to buy gold; and ways consumers can avoid falling for other gold companies' scams, gimmicks & high-pressure tactics, such as the “excessive silver scheme.” They also offer resources such as “10 Big Gold Dealer Lies” and “15 Bad Reasons to Buy Gold.” Furthermore, customers can request a free kit that serves as a guide to precious metal investing and gold IRAs.
Customers can contact customer service via email or by phone, available from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (PT). The Augusta Precious Metals website also offers live chat.





