Where Can I Buy Gold?

Before deciding where to buy gold, it helps to be clear on why. For European and UK investors, gold serves three roles: a long-term store of value that has held purchasing power across centuries, a diversifier that often behaves differently from equities and bonds, and a hedge against currency debasement and inflation. Because gold is priced globally in US dollars, GBP, EUR and CHF holders also gain a degree of indirect currency diversification.

Gold pays no dividend or interest, so it is best viewed as portfolio insurance rather than an income engine. Many advisers suggest a modest allocation, often in the region of 5–10% of a diversified portfolio, though the right figure depends on your own circumstances. If you are still weighing the case for the metal, our guide on how to invest in gold for beginners walks through the fundamentals before you commit capital.

European and UK investors have more routes to gold than ever. Each channel trades convenience, cost, security and liquidity differently, and the cheapest option on the shelf is rarely the cheapest once storage and resale are factored in.

Some banks — historically the Swiss and German institutions — will sell bullion or allocated gold accounts to clients. The advantage is trust and integration with existing accounts; the drawback is cost. Bank premiums and custody fees are typically higher than specialist channels, ranges are narrow, and many retail banks across the EU and UK no longer offer physical bullion at all.

Reputable online dealers such as APMEX and major European mints offer the widest product range and competitive premiums on coins and bars. You can take physical delivery or, with many dealers, opt for insured storage. The trade-off is that physical delivery introduces shipping, insurance and the practical problem of safe home or third-party storage. For a structured comparison of providers, see our overview of the best online gold trading platform options for European buyers.

A local dealer lets you inspect coins in person and walk away with metal in hand, with no shipping risk. Premiums on small quantities can be higher than online, and you should still verify the dealer's reputation and buyback terms. This route suits collectors and those who value face-to-face dealing over the lowest possible spread.

Digital platforms let you own fractional, professionally vaulted bullion that you can buy and sell online in seconds. With vaulted gold, the metal is allocated to you, stored in LBMA-approved vaults, and fully insured, removing the home-storage problem entirely. Many investors who start digitally retain the option to take physical delivery later. To understand the mechanics, our explainer on how it works covers ownership, custody and pricing in detail.

The table below summarises how the principal formats differ on premium, liquidity and storage. Figures are approximate and vary by product, quantity and provider.

Coins carry higher premiums than large bars but are far easier to sell in small amounts. Vaulted gold aims to combine bar-like pricing with coin-like flexibility. If you are weighing paper exposure against the metal itself, compare the two in gold ETFs vs gold.

This is where European investors enjoy a meaningful structural advantage, and it is often overlooked. Under EU rules (and mirrored in the UK), investment gold is exempt from VAT. To qualify, gold bars and wafers must generally be of a purity of at least 995 thousandths, and gold coins must meet defined criteria (broadly, minted after 1800, of at least 900 fineness, legal tender in their country of origin, and not sold at more than 80% above their gold value). This is why investment-grade gold is so cost-efficient to hold relative to other metals.

The same is not true across the board: in most EU jurisdictions silver and platinum can attract VAT, which immediately raises the entry cost of those metals. This single fact often makes physical gold the most tax-efficient precious metal to accumulate for a European buyer. Capital gains treatment, by contrast, varies widely by country, so confirm your local rules before selling.

Whichever channel you choose, run through the same due-diligence checklist. The goal is to confirm that you are buying genuine, investment-grade metal at a fair price from a counterparty you can rely on to buy it back.

If you buy vaulted or allocated gold, the jurisdiction of the vault matters. For European investors, OneGold emphasises the United Kingdom (London is the heart of the global bullion market) and Switzerland (Zurich, long synonymous with discreet, politically stable storage), with vaulting in the United States and Canada also available. All offer professional, insured, LBMA-standard custody.

Vaults in these centres hold LBMA Good Delivery bars, the wholesale standard that underpins the global market and ensures your metal is recognised and tradable worldwide. Where a platform supports it, holding metal across more than one jurisdiction can add a layer of geographic diversification to your custody arrangements.

Suppose the spot spot gold price is roughly £1,900 per ounce. A 1 oz gold coin from a dealer might carry a 5% premium, so you pay about £1,995. If you later sell back at a 2% discount to spot, you receive around £1,862 — a round-trip cost of roughly 7% before any price move. A 1 kg bar at a 1.5% premium is far cheaper per ounce, but you cannot sell a tenth of it when you need partial liquidity.

Vaulted gold is designed to narrow this gap: a low premium on entry, a tight published spread on exit, and the ability to sell precisely the amount you need. Over multiple transactions, the difference in spreads compounds, which is why cost transparency matters as much as the headline gold price. You can act on price targets automatically using limit orders rather than watching the market all day.

Getting started is straightforward. The process is designed to let you go from account to allocated metal in minutes, with the option to take physical delivery later if you wish.

The best place to buy gold is the one that combines fair, transparent pricing with secure, insured custody and easy resale. For investors who want metal in hand, a reputable dealer or local shop works well; for those who prioritise low cost, instant liquidity and no storage headaches, vaulted gold is hard to beat — and you can always convert to physical later.

A note on risk: the price of gold can fall as well as rise, it generates no income, and past performance is no guide to future returns. The figures in this article are illustrative and approximate. This is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice; confirm your local VAT and capital-gains rules and consider consulting a qualified adviser before investing.