BullionVault vs Royal Mint: which is better?
BullionVault is cheaper to buy, store and sell: 0.5% dealing and 0.12% a year storage, against coin premiums of 4.87% to 7.13% and vault fees of 1% to 2% plus VAT at The Royal Mint. But Royal Mint Britannias and Sovereigns are free of Capital Gains Tax and can be delivered; BullionVault's bars are not tax-free.
These two are often compared, but they sell different things. BullionVault is an online marketplace for slices of large professional bars that never leave the vault. The Royal Mint sells coins and bars you can hold, offers to store them, and also runs DigiGold, its own vaulted gold product. Which is better depends on three things: how much you will hold, whether you want gold in your hand, and how a future gain would be taxed.
BullionVault or Royal Mint: which should you choose?
Choose BullionVault if
- You want the lowest cost to buy, hold and sell
- You are happy for your gold to stay in a professional vault
- You want to sell online at any time and be paid quickly
- Any gain is likely to fit inside your £3,000 CGT allowance, or you accept paying CGT
Choose The Royal Mint if
- You want gains free of Capital Gains Tax (Britannias and Sovereigns)
- You want coins you can have delivered or keep at home
- You want to start very small (DigiGold from £25)
- You prefer dealing with the HM Treasury-owned mint
How do BullionVault and The Royal Mint compare side by side?
| Feature | BullionVault | Royal Mint coins in The Vault | Royal Mint DigiGold |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you own | Share of specific 400oz bars, recorded in your name | Your own coins or bars | Share of physical bars in The Vault |
| Cost to buy | 0.5% commission; about 0.50% over spot in our 11 Oct capture | Coin premium: 2027 Britannia 4.87% to 7.13% | Price spread not captured |
| Storage a year | 0.12%, insurance included; $4 monthly minimum | 1% + VAT (tubes, larger bars); 2% + VAT (single coins, bars to 1oz) | 0.5% + VAT |
| Cost to sell | 0.5% commission | 2% buy-back fee | 1% buy-back fee |
| Smallest purchase | 1 gram | One coin (smallest Royal Mint bars are 1g) | £25 |
| Delivery | Mainly one 100g bar per dispatch, about 1% + 2% to 5% | Can request delivery of part or all | Not possible |
| Where stored | London, Zurich, New York, Toronto or Singapore | Llantrisant, Wales | Llantrisant, Wales |
| Capital Gains Tax | Taxable (bars) | Free on Britannias and Sovereigns; bars taxable | Taxable |
| FCA regulated? | No, as it states | No, as it states | No, as it states |
| Trustpilot | 4.6 from 1,910 reviews (11 Oct 2026) | 3.7 from 3,315 reviews, whole business (11 Oct 2026) | |
How much does each cost to buy?
Every way of buying gold costs the spot price (the market price) plus something extra. With coins that extra is the premium, which covers minting and the seller's margin. With BullionVault it is a small gap between buy and sell prices plus commission, because you are buying large bars that are cheap to make per ounce.
| Product (date) | Price | Over spot | CGT-free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| BullionVault London gold, buy price + 0.5% commission (11 Oct) | £101,790/kg + 0.5% | 0.50% | No |
| The Royal Mint 1kg cast bar (12 Oct) | £103,656.38 | 1.92% | No |
| The Royal Mint Best Value 100g bar (12 Oct) | £10,706.92 | 5.28% | No |
| The Royal Mint 2027 1oz Britannia (12 Oct, 07:00 UTC) | £3,317.15 | 4.87% | Yes |
| The Royal Mint 2027 1oz Britannia (10 Oct) | £3,397.16 | 7.13% | Yes |
| The Royal Mint 2027 Sovereign (10 Oct) | £807.30 | 8.14% | Yes |
BullionVault: public home page price at 23:32 BST on 11 October 2026, spot £3,166.01/oz (£101,789.63/kg). Royal Mint: GoldVetted price check, 10 October 2026 (spot £3,171.03) and 12 October 2026 (spot £3,162 to £3,164 depending on read time). A second Royal Mint Britannia read at 07:51 UTC on 12 October showed 6.83%. We did not capture a DigiGold buy price. See the premium tracker.
What this means for you. On £10,000, buying through BullionVault cost about £50 more than the gold's spot value; a Royal Mint Britannia cost roughly £490 to £710 more. Only a 1kg bar, at over £100,000, brings The Royal Mint near BullionVault's buying cost. The coin premium buys you two things BullionVault cannot offer: a coin you can hold, and freedom from Capital Gains Tax.
What does storage cost each year?
Storage is where the two differ most, because the fee is charged every year you hold.
| Value held | BullionVault (0.12%, $4/month min) | DigiGold (0.5% + VAT) | Royal Mint Vault, tubes (1% + VAT) | Royal Mint Vault, single coins (2% + VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000 | $48 (about £36) | £6 | £12 | £24 |
| £10,000 | $48 (about £36) | £60 | £120 | £240 |
| £50,000 | £60 | £300 | £600 | £1,200 |
| £100,000 | £120 | £600 | £1,200 | £2,400 |
Assumes a constant value for a year. BullionVault bills monthly in US dollars; the $4 minimum applies until a holding is worth roughly $40,000. Royal Mint fees are charged quarterly in arrears on average daily value, with no minimum. Late Royal Mint storage payments can attract 0.5% a month on the overdue amount.
For very small sums, under about £6,000, DigiGold's percentage fee is lower than BullionVault's $4 monthly minimum. Above that, BullionVault is the cheapest by a wide margin. Ten years in The Vault at 2% plus VAT would cost about 24% of the value. Run your own numbers with our storage cost calculator, and compare home storage and other vaults in our UK gold storage guide.
How does Capital Gains Tax change the answer?
This is the factor that most often tips UK buyers towards coins. Britannias and Sovereigns are UK legal tender, and HMRC treats them as sterling currency, so UK residents pay no Capital Gains Tax when they sell at a profit (HMRC CG78305). BullionVault holds your gold as bars, which are chargeable assets. So are Royal Mint bars and DigiGold.
| Held as | Gain | Taxable after £3,000 allowance | CGT at 18% | CGT at 24% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Mint Britannias or Sovereigns | £6,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| BullionVault, DigiGold or any bar | £6,000 | £3,000 | £540 | £720 |
Our arithmetic. Ignores dealing costs and assumes the £3,000 annual exempt amount is not used elsewhere. Rates depend on your income; see GOV.UK. This is not tax advice.
The trade-off is real in both directions. Coins cost more to buy, so a gain has to cover a higher premium first. Bars held on BullionVault are cheap to buy and sell, but larger gains can attract tax. Investment gold is exempt from VAT either way. Our UK gold tax guide covers allowances and record keeping.
How does selling work on each?
BullionVault: you log in and sell on its order board, either at the best bid for an instant sale or at a price you set. Sale money appears in your account straight away, and BullionVault says withdrawals leave its client account by the end of the next business day. In our 11 October snapshot its sell price was 0.09% under spot before 0.5% commission, so a buy-and-sell round trip cost about 1.1%.
The Royal Mint: vaulted coins and bars can be sold from your account for a 2% fee, and DigiGold for 1%. If you prefer, you can have vaulted coins delivered and sell them elsewhere. Coins and bars held at home go through an online quote form; it aims to reply within 24 hours and pays within two working days of approval. Our guide to selling gold in the UK lists other buyers to compare against.
Is either one regulated, and is my gold protected?
Neither is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for bullion, and both say so. Physical gold in the UK is generally not a regulated investment, so the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and Financial Ombudsman Service do not cover it, as the Advertising Standards Authority notes. The FCA explains what unregulated means on its unregulated products page.
The protections each describes are different in kind. The Royal Mint Limited is owned by HM Treasury according to Companies House, and says vaulted bars are independently audited, fully insured and held outside the banking system. BullionVault, run by Galmarley Ltd since 2005 and an LBMA member since 2008, says customer gold is held under a bailment arrangement, never on its own balance sheet, by independent vault operators (Loomis International, Malca-Amit and Brink's), with bar lists published every business day. It also says it follows the LBMA's Precious Metals Code and keeps a compensation fund currently capped at $4 million. Uninvested cash in a BullionVault account sits in client bank accounts. We describe these arrangements for information only. The ownership model is explained in allocated vs unallocated gold.
Verdict: which suits which buyer?
| If you are... | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Holding £10,000 or more long term in a vault | BullionVault | About 0.5% to buy and 0.12% a year to store |
| Expecting gains above your CGT allowance | The Royal Mint (coins) | Britannias and Sovereigns are free of CGT |
| Wanting gold at home | The Royal Mint | Coins delivered free in the UK; BullionVault delivery is limited and costly |
| Starting with under £1,000 | DigiGold | From £25, no monthly minimum |
| Wanting to sell quickly online | BullionVault | Sell any time; 0.5% commission against a 2% fee |
| Wanting gold outside the UK | BullionVault | Choice of Zurich, New York, Toronto or Singapore |
If cost is what matters, BullionVault wins on buying, storing and selling. If you want coins you can hold, or tax-free gains, The Royal Mint's coins have the edge, though specialist dealers sell the same coins for less (see Royal Mint vs Chards). Read the full BullionVault review and Royal Mint review, or compare other online dealers in our BullionByPost review and Bullion House review. Every dealer we check is listed in our guide to the best places to buy gold in the UK.
Gold prices can fall as well as rise. This comparison is general information, not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is BullionVault cheaper than The Royal Mint?
To buy and store, yes. BullionVault charges 0.5% dealing commission and 0.12% a year for storage (minimum $4 a month). The Royal Mint's 2027 1oz Britannia was 4.87% to 7.13% over spot in our October 2026 checks, and its vault costs 1% or 2% plus VAT a year. DigiGold costs 0.5% plus VAT a year with a 1% fee to sell.
Is BullionVault or Royal Mint DigiGold better?
Both let you own a share of vaulted bars without taking delivery, and neither is FCA regulated. BullionVault charges 0.12% a year storage and 0.5% to sell; DigiGold charges 0.5% plus VAT a year and 1% to sell. DigiGold starts at £25 with no monthly minimum, which suits very small amounts. BullionVault lets you choose between five vault cities.
Do I pay Capital Gains Tax on BullionVault gold?
Gains can be taxable. BullionVault holds gold as bars, and bars are chargeable assets for Capital Gains Tax, at 18% or 24% on gains above the £3,000 annual exempt amount in 2026 to 2027. The same applies to Royal Mint bars and DigiGold. Only legal tender coins such as Britannias and Sovereigns are exempt. See our UK gold tax guide.
Can I take delivery of my gold?
From The Royal Mint's vault, yes: you can ask for delivery of part or all of your coins and bars. From BullionVault, delivery is possible but limited, mainly one 100g bar per dispatch for a fee BullionVault puts at around 1% plus 2% to 5% for insurance and transport. DigiGold cannot be delivered at all.
Which is safer, BullionVault or The Royal Mint?
Neither is covered by the FSCS or Financial Ombudsman for bullion. The Royal Mint is owned by HM Treasury. BullionVault, run by Galmarley Ltd since 2005, says customer gold is held under bailment, off its balance sheet, by independent vault operators, with bar lists published daily. Gold prices can fall with either.
How quickly can I sell?
BullionVault lets you sell online at any time on its order board, and cash usually leaves your account by the end of the next business day. The Royal Mint lets you request a sale of vaulted gold in your account for a 2% fee on coins and bars, or 1% for DigiGold. Coins kept at home go through an online quote.
Is either one suitable for a pension?
The Royal Mint runs Gold for Pensions, which lets certain SIPP and SSAS schemes hold its bars or DigiGold through a pension provider. Pension rules and provider charges apply. Our guide to gold in a SIPP or ISA describes the options neutrally. Neither route is a recommendation.
Sources
We checked these primary and official sources when writing and fact-checking this page.
- BullionVault: tariff (0.5% commission, 0.12% storage, $4 monthly minimum)
- BullionVault: Governance FAQs (not FCA regulated, Precious Metals Code, compensation fund)
- BullionVault: Vaulting FAQs (independent vault operators, daily bar lists)
- BullionVault: withdraw gold bars (100 g bar service)
- The Royal Mint: Storage, delivery and buy-back fees
- The Royal Mint: DigiGold (from £25, 0.5% + VAT, 1% buy-back fee, unregulated)
- HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG78305: Sovereigns and Britannias are currency
- GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances
- Advertising Standards Authority: advertising gold investments (no FSCS or FOS for physical gold)
- FCA: Unregulated products and activities
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.