Best gold bars to buy: our picks by budget and country

"Best" lists for gold bars often rank brands with scores nobody can check. We do it differently. Every pick below rests on prices our automated checks read from dealers' own websites on 12 October 2026, on the London Bullion Market Association's (LBMA) official refiner list as it stood that day, and on what mints and dealers publish about security and buyback. There are no star ratings or scores out of ten, because gold bars of the same purity hold the same metal. What differs is how much you pay above the gold, how easily you can sell, and how hard the bar is to fake.

How did we choose the best gold bars?

We used five tests, in this order of weight:

1. Premium per gram from our own data. The premium is what you pay above the value of the gold, at the spot price (the live wholesale price). We compare single-bar prices at the cheapest payment method, checked automatically on 11 and 12 October 2026. Our premium tracker keeps the history.
2. Refiner on the LBMA Good Delivery list. This is the London market's list of refiners whose large bars banks accept. It is the closest thing the industry has to a quality register. A small bar does not need it to be genuine, but listed brands are recognised by dealers everywhere.
3. Resale. How readily dealers buy the bar back, and at what discount. A sealed bar from a known brand is the easiest to sell.
4. Security features. Serial numbers, tamper-evident cards and on-bar features that make fakes harder, taken from the makers' own pages.
5. Cast or minted. Cast bars are poured into moulds and usually cost a little less; minted bars are stamped and polished, look sharper and are sold sealed. More in cast vs minted bars.

What is the best gold bar size for your budget?

Size matters more than brand. Making and packing a bar costs roughly the same whatever it weighs, so small bars carry much bigger premiums. This table shows the range we found for each size across the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Single-bar prices from GoldVetted price checks on 12 October 2026 (1 oz bars on 11 and 12 October), using gold-api.com spot at the time of each read. Sterling and US dollar prices shown; Canadian and Australian prices are in the country table below. Avoid 1 g bars unless the bar is a gift: on 12 October they cost 18.18% to 44.25% over gold value; see the 1 gram bar guide.

The biggest saving comes early. Moving from 1 g to 5 g roughly halves the premium or better, and from 5 g to 20 g roughly halves it again. Beyond 1 oz, the premium keeps falling, but more slowly, and you give up the ability to sell part of your gold. That is why we highlight both the 1 oz bar and the 100 g bar.

Which gold bar is the best value in the US, UK, Canada and Australia?

Here are the lowest-premium bars we found at each size in each country, from dealers whose sites allowed our automated check. "Out of stock" means the price was shown but the bar could not be bought at that moment.

Single bar, cheapest payment method (usually bank transfer or check). Premium = price / (fine weight x gold-api.com spot) - 1, at the minute of each read. Dates are 12 October 2026 unless shown. Full method and spot prices are on each size guide; repeat checks on the premium tracker. Some APMEX product pages did not allow our automated check, so we do not publish a premium for them.

Three patterns stand out. Canada had the lowest premiums we saw anywhere for 10 g, 100 g and 1 kg bars, all at Gold Stock Canada. Australia was the most consistent: buying direct from the Perth Mint cost under 4% from 20 g upwards. In the UK, Hatton Garden Metals' "best value" bars (refiner varies) undercut the Royal Mint's own bars at every size up to 100 g, but several were out of stock; for a kilo, the Royal Mint was cheaper. In the US, premiums on small bars were among the highest of the four countries, so US buyers gain most from going up a size.

See Perth Mint bar prices See Hatton Garden Metals bar prices

Which refiners pass the LBMA Good Delivery test?

We checked the LBMA's current gold Good Delivery list on 12 October 2026. It named 67 refiners (one of them suspended). Here is how the brands in our price checks compare:

LBMA status from the LBMA current and former gold lists. Security details from the Royal Mint and Perth Mint product pages, and dealer listings at APMEX, Gold Stock Canada and Hatton Garden Metals. Other listed refiners include Argor-Heraeus, the Royal Canadian Mint, ABC Refinery, Rand Refinery and Asahi; we did not price their bars in this round.

This is where the trade-off sits. The two cheapest bars in our checks, Gold Stock Canada's Ontario Mint Corp 100 g bar and the Royal Mint's kilo bar, both came from refiners not on the current Good Delivery list. That does not make them inferior gold: both are sold as 99.99% pure by established sellers, and the Royal Mint is the UK's official mint. But a buyer abroad, or a dealer outside the brand's home market, may be more cautious with a bar it sees less often. If you expect to sell in another country or to a wide range of dealers, a listed refiner such as PAMP, Valcambi or the Perth Mint is the safer choice for a small extra cost. Our guide to Good Delivery gold explains the list.

Worked example: what does the size choice cost you?

Say you want about 100 g of gold. Here is what the same weight cost on 12 October 2026, bought as one bar or as several smaller ones from the same seller.

Single-bar prices multiplied by quantity; volume discounts ignored. Gold value of 100 g was about £10,170 and A$19,282 at the time.

In the UK, ten 10 g bars cost £605.96 more than one 100 g bar. In Australia the gap was A$772.05. Smaller bars are not a waste: they let you sell a little at a time, and some buyers value that. But the flexibility has a clear price, and you can see it before you buy.

Do some bars sell back for more than others?

Less than you might think. On 11 October 2026, Hatton Garden Metals listed the same buyback rate, 4.27% below gold value, for every gold bar from 1 g to 1 kg, and its live buyback prices on 12 October were all about 4% under spot. So the money you save with a big, low-premium bar is saved at purchase; it is not lost again when you sell. The reverse is also true: a high premium on a small bar is money you will not get back. The round trip, buying and then selling to the same dealer, is called the spread, and it is the real cost of owning gold.

Sealed bars from known brands sell most easily. Loose bars, or bars whose cards are damaged, may need testing, and some dealers pay less for them. See selling gold bars and what an assay card is.

Common mistakes when picking a gold bar

• Choosing by brand before size. In our data, size moved the premium far more than brand did.
• Comparing price per bar, not per gram. Divide by the weight in grams, or use our premium calculator.
• Paying by card without checking. APMEX's card price for a 20 g Valcambi bar was US$2,995.62, against US$2,875.80 by check or wire.
• Buying design or gift bars to save. Themed bars cost more than plain ones of the same weight.
• Opening the card. It is the bar's proof of identity when you sell.

What else should you know in each country?

Bars of 99.99% purity are free of VAT in the UK (HMRC Notice 701/21 covers gold of 995 fineness or more) and free of GST/HST in Canada and GST in Australia (both use a 99.5% purity line). The US has no federal sales tax on bullion, but some states charge it. On selling, UK buyers should note that bars are liable to Capital Gains Tax while Britannia and Sovereign coins are not, which is why many UK buyers mix in coins; see gold coins vs gold bars. For dealers, delivery and local rules, see where to buy gold in the US, where to buy gold in the UK, where to buy gold in Canada and where to buy gold in Australia. If you are new to all of this, start with how to buy gold.

Gold prices go down as well as up, and this guide is not a recommendation to buy. It sets out costs and trade-offs so you can compare like with like. Browse all gold bar guides or the full gold bar sizes table for more.

Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.