Gold: the cheapest way to buy
How the routes compare
Six common ways to buy gold from abroad. Facts only: account, cost, hours, what you hold.
Gold ETFs (GLDM / IAU / GLD)
For: people with a brokerage account who want to hold long term.
- Account
- International brokerage account (e.g. IBKR)
- Cost
- Commission per broker (IBKR US$0.005/share, min US$1) + expense ratio GLDM 0.10%, IAU 0.25%, GLD 0.40%
- Hours
- US market hours
- What you hold
- ETF shares, not bars
IBKR London spot gold
For: IBKR clients who want to track the spot price directly.
- Account
- IBKR account
- Cost
- 0.015% commission, min US$2; 0.10%/yr storage
- Hours
- Per IBKR (not verified here)
- What you hold
- A spot gold position in your account
CME micro gold futures (MGC)
For: experienced futures traders who want leverage.
- Account
- Futures account (e.g. IBKR)
- Cost
- IBKR from US$0.25 per contract, exchange fees extra (not verified)
- Hours
- Per CME (not verified here)
- What you hold
- A contract (10 oz each, physically delivered) that must be rolled before expiry
Bullion bars / coins
For: people who want to keep the metal themselves for the long term.
- Account
- Order from a bullion dealer
- Cost
- 1 oz bar ~3.6–4.6% over spot, American Eagle ~5.2%, by card ~9.6% (single APMEX snapshot, 2026-11-10)
- Hours
- Per dealer
- What you hold
- Physical bars or coins
Exchange gold perpetuals
For: people who already hold USDT and want to go long or short at night.
- Account
- Exchange identity check
- Cost
- 0.04% taker (Binance) / 0.05% (OKX, Gate) + funding
- Hours
- 24/7 on all three
- What you hold
- No gold held, price only
Tokenized gold XAUT / PAXG
For: people who want to hold gold in USDT terms and move it to a wallet.
- Account
- Exchange identity check
- Cost
- ~0.1% + the cost of turning dollars into USDT
- Hours
- 24/7
- What you hold
- A token backed by bars held by the issuer
Gold on the three exchanges right now
Checked daily against each exchange's commodity contract list.
- Contract
- XAUUSDT
- Spot token
- PAXG
- Fee
- 0.04%
- Hours
- 24/7
- Leverage
- up to 100x
- Funding rate
- every 4h
- Contract
- XAUUSDT
- Spot token
- XAUT
- Fee
- 0.05%
- Hours
- 24/7
- Leverage
- up to 100x
- Contract
- XAUUSDT
- Spot token
- XAUT / PAXG
- Fee
- 0.07%
- Hours
- 24/7
- Leverage
- up to 100x
- Funding rate
- every 4h
Is anyone searching for Gold?
Worldwide search interest, last 8 weeks
Worldwide Google search interest for "gold price", last 8 weeks; peak week = 100.
How this page calculates
- The headline price is the daily close of Gate's XAU_USDT perpetual in US dollars per ounce; grams use 1 troy ounce = 31.1035 g.
- Cost covers the buy side only: fees, premium and FX. Perpetual funding is extra and not in the calculator; neither are ETF expense ratios or London gold storage.
- The USD→USDT cost on exchange routes is an estimate: Binance ~2.2% (median Binance P2P offer paid by Wise, 11-10 snapshot), OKX 2.49% (official USD card fee, spread excluded). If you already hold USDT, leave that part out.
- Worldwide Google searches for "gold price" were up 46% in the latest week against the previous four (pulled 2026-11-08).
FAQ
Does an exchange gold perpetual give me gold?
No. A perpetual tracks the price without owning the metal; you can go long or short with leverage and can be liquidated, and funding is paid or received while you hold (every 4 hours on Binance's and Gate's gold perps). If you want gold priced in USDT, tokens such as XAUT or PAXG exist, but they depend on the issuer to redeem.
Can I buy gold at night?
ETFs such as GLDM, IAU and GLD follow US market hours; gold perpetuals on Binance, OKX and Gate, and XAUT and PAXG spot, trade 24/7. Trading hours for IBKR London gold and CME micro gold futures are not verified here.
What's cheapest for holding gold long term?
Depends on how long. ETFs charge a yearly expense ratio (GLDM 0.10%, IAU 0.25%, GLD 0.40%); a 1 oz bar costs roughly 3.6–4.6% over spot up front with no yearly fee, but storage and insurance are on you; on exchange routes the main cost is turning dollars into USDT. Change the amount in the calculator above; fees as of the verification date.
Other commodities
Open accounts on all three
Listings and prices change daily. With all three, use whichever has it and costs least.
Spot fee 0.1% (0.075% paid in BNB); 7,000+ US stocks; gold, silver and oil perps 24/7.
Spot 0.08% / 0.10%; 230 stock perps incl. Hong Kong, Japan and Korea; gold and oil perps 24/7.
US, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Taiwan stocks in USDT; perps on A-shares such as Cambricon.
The global sites of Binance, OKX and Gate are all closed to US residents (Binance also excludes US citizens). Each restricts a different set of other places — including Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the UK and mainland China — see the restricted list on each exchange's page. Not investment advice; we earn commission through referral links.