Augusta Precious Metals vs Goldco: Minimums, Fees, Complaints, Buybacks

Augusta Precious Metals requires $50,000 to open an account and Goldco requires $25,000, as of September 5, 2026. That single gap decides most of this comparison. Below $50,000, Goldco is the only one of the two that will take the order. At $50,000 and above, Augusta’s file shows 1 BBB complaint in three years against Goldco’s 75, and the two companies’ custodian fees land on the same Equity Trust schedule.

I administered retirement plans for a living before I started writing these files. The habit that survived is checking every number against the document it came from, so every figure below names its source in the sentence that uses it. Where a company publishes nothing, I say so rather than borrow a third-party estimate.

Key figures at a glance

Which minimum can you actually meet?

Augusta’s FAQ, which shows a published date of September 2, 2026, reads: “We do have a minimum order of $50,000 for both cash (non-IRA) and IRA purchases. The minimum may be met by purchasing any combination of items.” The same figure appears on the gold IRA page and the about page.

Goldco’s gold IRA FAQ says: “we generally require that you have at least $25,000 available to roll over into a gold IRA.” The word to hold onto is “generally”. It leaves a representative room to accept a smaller rollover, and it leaves you room to ask. Goldco’s cash-purchase minimum is not on any goldco.com page I read. Two third-party sites give $3,500 and $10,000, which is a wide enough conflict that I treat the figure as unpublished.

A $30,000 or $45,000 IRA has one option here, and it is Goldco. A $50,000 account clears both doors. The minimum investment file covers how Augusta’s threshold moved from $25,000 to $50,000 and what a buyer just under it can do; the alternatives page lists the dealers that open at $5,000 to $20,000.

Which one publishes its fees?

Neither company prints its own custodian charges as hard figures. Augusta’s gold IRA page describes them as ranges: an annual custodian fee “Typically $75-$150 per year”, an annual storage fee “Typically $100-$150 per year”, and a setup fee that “Varies by custodian”. The exact numbers come from the custodian Augusta names as its preferred partner. Equity Trust’s Precious Metals Fee Schedule, document FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726, lists a $50 account set-up fee, a $125 annual maintenance fee “Charged at establishment and each January thereafter”, $110 for non-segregated storage, $160 for segregated storage, $30 per wire, $250 for a full termination, and $125 per in-kind distribution. The schedule adds that “Account maintenance fees are not prorated.”

Goldco’s FAQ gives its own rounded numbers: “Expect to pay about $50 for an account setup fee, around $80 for your annual account management fee, and between $100-150 for annual gold storage”, and elsewhere “somewhere in the ballpark of $200 a year or so in fees”. It does not split segregated from non-segregated storage and it does not mention a wire fee.

One conflict to flag: Goldco’s FAQ says around $80 for the annual admin fee while the Equity Trust schedule, the custodian Goldco’s own statement-reading explainer points to, charges $125, so this file uses the custodian’s $125 and treats the $80 as a rounded marketing figure until Goldco publishes a schedule of its own.

None of these dollars are dealer revenue; they pass through to the custodian and the depository. The dealer earns on the spread between what you pay per coin and its melt value, and no fee schedule on either site shows that number. The fees file itemises Augusta’s schedule and the pricing file walks through the spread arithmetic.

What does each charge over ten years?

The table below uses Equity Trust’s figures for Augusta, then shows Goldco twice: once on its own FAQ numbers, once on the same custodian schedule. Wire fees ($30 one-time at both) and the spread on metal are excluded. The three balance columns differ only where a waiver applies, because flat fees do not scale with the account.

The phrase “every customer pays zero fees for up to 10 years” appears in the company-written About text on Augusta’s Trustpilot profile. I read the home page, the gold IRA page, the gold IRA fees page, the FAQ, the about page, the silver IRA page and the web conference page on September 5, 2026, and none of them carries the offer. The qualifying balance and the duration are quoted by phone. Get both in writing, on the order paperwork, before you fund.

Goldco states no fee waiver. Its site says qualifying customers “may even qualify for free storage” with no terms attached, which is a phrase to ask about rather than a figure to bank on.

The structural conclusion is that both dealers route to the same custodian and the same depository, so the unpromoted ten-year custody cost is $2,400 on either side. The real cost gap between them is the spread on the metal you are sold.

What does the bonus silver actually pay?

Goldco’s homepage and its buy gold and silver page advertise up to 5 percent back in bonus silver on purchases of $50,000 to $99,999 “in Goldco premium coins” and 10 percent on $100,000 or more, again in premium coins. The offer “Cannot be combined with any other offer.”

The bonus is paid on premium coins, which are the products with the widest gap between price and melt value, and the bonus itself arrives as more of the same product. A 10 percent bonus on a coin priced 15 percent over melt is worth less than the headline suggests. On a $100,000 order the entire ten-year custody bill is $2,400, while a one-point difference in spread on that order is $1,000 paid on day one. Neither promotion changes the question you should be asking, which is the premium per unit over spot on the exact coins in the quote.

What do the complaint files show?

On September 5, 2026, Augusta’s BBB profile showed an A+ rating, accreditation since February 2015, 137 customer reviews averaging 4.93 out of 5, and “1 complaint in the last 3 years. 1 complaint closed in the last 12 months.” That complaint, filed January 23, 2026 and typed as Sales and Advertising Issues, alleges premiums “approximately 84% above typical market pricing for gold and over 200% above typical market pricing for silver” and puts the “estimated excess premiums paid” at over $57,000 on a roughly $100,000 purchase. Augusta’s reply calls the third-party analysis incorrect and says the holdings have risen in value. The thread ends with the customer still asking for written documentation. BBB status “Answered” means the business replied, not that the customer accepted.

The same customer posted a one-star Trustpilot review on the same date and edited a Google review to the same effect. That is one incident on three platforms, and the complaints file treats it as one.

Goldco’s BBB profile, read the same day, showed A+, accreditation since December 2011, 1,716 customer reviews averaging 4.82, and “75 total complaints in the last 3 years. 37 complaints closed in the last 12 months.” Of the 75, 61 are Answered and 14 Resolved. By category: 22 service, 21 product, 17 sales and advertising, 9 billing.

Goldco has about twelve times Augusta’s BBB review count and seventy-five times its complaint count. A larger customer base explains part of the gap. It does not explain a 75-to-1 ratio, and the spread of Goldco’s complaints across four categories tells you the friction is not confined to one process.

Trustpilot tells a similar story. Augusta holds 4.8 from 365 reviews and the platform card says it “replied to 100% of negative reviews”. Goldco’s Trustpilot page shows 4.4 from 1,787 reviews. Goldco’s own reviews page claims a Trustpilot score of 4.8; the live page on September 5, 2026 read 4.4. BBB complaint counts move weekly, so re-read both profiles before you quote them. The BBB file tracks Augusta’s figures over time.

What do the courts and regulators say?

For Augusta, searches of the CFTC, SEC, FINRA and state attorney general records on September 5, 2026 returned nothing. The CFTC site search for the exact company name reads “Displaying results 0 - 0 of 0”. The only regulatory record is a Minnesota Department of Commerce consent order dated August 21, 2019: a $3,000 civil penalty plus $45 in costs for selling bullion to Minnesota consumers above statutory thresholds without first registering with the department. The receipt stamp on the order shows the penalty paid. The department alleged a registration lapse and nothing else.

Two commercial suits name Augusta as defendant. Westwood One, the Cumulus radio network, filed in New York County Supreme Court on July 10, 2024 over unpaid advertising invoices it put at $1,037,175.36 plus interest, per the UniCourt listing. Orion Precious Metals filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on March 18, 2024, case 24STCV06727, alleging trademark infringement, false advertising and unfair competition, per the Trellis docket. Both are business disputes. Neither is a customer suit, and the current status of each is unverified because both docket sites block automated reads. The full Augusta Precious Metals lawsuit record sets out all four cases and the 2019 Minnesota order, with every registry link.

For Goldco, the record is a consumer class action. Summerton v. Goldco Direct LLC, W.D. Wisconsin case 23-cv-238, alleged marketing texts sent to people on the Do Not Call Registry after they opted out, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It settled for $2,000,000, with preliminary approval on December 11, 2025 and a final approval hearing set for March 26, 2026, per classaction.org. A second California TCPA complaint was filed July 22, 2024. No regulator action naming Goldco was found.

A TCPA case concerns how a company markets. The settlement contains no finding that Goldco overcharged anyone. It does show that Goldco’s outbound contact practices drew a class action that cost $2 million to close, which is worth weighing before you hand over a phone number to request a kit.

How do the buyback promises differ?

Augusta’s FAQ is unusually careful: “Although Augusta has historically bought back our customers’ gold and silver (at the time of this writing we have never declined a buyback), the law prohibits us from guaranteeing we will repurchase the products we sell. Augusta’s buyback policy is subject to change without notice.” The gold IRA page carries a badge reading “Never denied a buyback since 2012” with a “24-hour cancellation window if you find a better offer”. There is no highest-price claim on the site pages, though Augusta’s reply inside the BBB complaint thread does refer to “a 100% highest buyback guarantee”. Ask which wording appears on your order paperwork.

Goldco goes further in its marketing. The buy page says “we’ll even BUY BACK your precious metals at the highest price, with our Goldco Highest BuyBack Guarantee”, and the about page promises “the industry’s highest buyback guarantee PLUS no fees when you’re ready to liquidate.” A search snippet from Goldco’s terms adds two conditions: the highest-price promise “applies after three years from initial purchase” and “No specific buy back rates are guaranteed”. I did not capture the URL of that terms page, so verify it on goldco.com before you rely on it.

The administrator’s reading is that both promises are conditional and neither is enforceable as a price. The test that cuts through both is the same: on the day you receive a purchase quote, ask each dealer what it would pay to buy that exact order back. The gap between the two numbers is the spread, and it is the figure the pros and cons file puts at the top of Augusta’s cost column.

Who is paid to endorse each?

Augusta’s endorser is Joe Montana. Augusta’s own page for him is indexed under the title “Joe Montana” and the search description calls him a customer and “paid corporate ambassador”, though the page returned a not-found error to my reader on September 5, 2026. Confirm it in a browser before quoting it.

Goldco’s site navigation and reviews page list Sean Hannity, Tom Selleck, Dennis Quaid, Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump. A separate goldco.com announcement covers a partnership with Chuck Norris, quoted as saying “Goldco is the only company I trust for our gold & silver purchases.” The Goldco pages read do not print compensation terms for any of them.

An endorsement roster tells you a dealer’s advertising budget, and advertising budgets are paid for from the spread. Augusta’s single paid ambassador and Goldco’s six names sit on the same side of that ledger.

Which one should you call?

Match the account to the door that opens.

Under $50,000. Goldco, because Augusta will not take the order. Ask whether “generally” $25,000 can flex lower if you are close, and get the answer in an email.

$50,000 to $99,999. Both will take the account. Augusta’s record is cleaner on every public file: 1 BBB complaint against 75, Trustpilot 4.8 against 4.4, and no consumer suit found. Goldco’s 5 percent bonus silver at this tier is paid in premium coins, so weigh it against the premium on those coins rather than against Augusta’s $235 a year.

$100,000 and above. Augusta’s gold IRA page says its one-on-one web conference is available to savers with $100,000 or more, and the phone-quoted fee waiver is most likely to be offered at this level; get it in writing. Goldco offers 10 percent bonus silver here. Either way, the custody fees are a rounding error against a six-figure spread.

Whichever you call, request four numbers in writing before the confirmation call: the spot price used, the premium per unit, the total, and the same-day buyback bid. Then compare the two quotes side by side. For the buyer-side comparison see goldiradesk.com’s Augusta vs Goldco page, which ranks the two from the shopper’s chair rather than the auditor’s. The gold IRA overview covers Augusta’s process from first call to funded account.

The verdict

The minimum decides it. Goldco takes $25,000 and Augusta takes $50,000, so a smaller rollover has one choice. At $50,000 and above, both companies bill through Equity Trust at $285 in year one and $235 a year after, so the fee schedules cancel out. The difference sits in the complaint files, where Augusta shows 1 entry in three years and Goldco 75, and in the buyback wording, where Augusta declines to guarantee and Goldco guarantees with conditions it prints on a page I could not capture. Augusta’s ten-year waiver is quoted by phone, so secure it in writing and weigh it as a small bonus. Choose on the written quote.