THE SHORT ANSWER
A small annual fee difference matters only after entry, exit and structure are put on the same timeline
Enter two products' latest prospectus expenses, trading friction, premium or discount to NAV and commissions. The calculator applies one shared gross gold-return scenario, reports the selected holding-period result and traces monthly net values to the first cost crossover, if one exists in the selected range. Defaults are labelled illustrations. The tool does not fetch holdings, predict gold, estimate tracking difference or calculate tax.
INTERACTIVE COMPARISON
Model two products without hiding the assumptions
Capital and holding period must be positive, annual expense must remain below 100%, and entry commission must remain below capital.
Method: entry cash is adjusted for commission, trading friction and premium or discount to NAV; NAV exposure then compounds through the entered gross return and annual expense; exit value applies the entered NAV premium or discount, trading friction and commission. Tracking difference, taxes, securities lending, cash balances, creations, redemptions and execution are outside this model.
FORMULA
The model separates entry, holding and exit
(Capital - entry commission) x (1 - entry bps/10,000) / (1 + entry NAV gap).
Starting exposure x [(1 + gross annual return) x (1 - annual expense)]^years.
Ending NAV exposure x (1 + exit NAV gap) x (1 - exit bps/10,000) - exit commission.
Frictionless capital grown at the gross return minus modeled net ending value.
The expense-ratio treatment is an approximation for scenario comparison. A real product's per-share bullion, cash, liabilities, valuation timing and other operations can cause realized tracking difference to depart from the simple formula.
INPUT CHECKLIST
Where each number should come from
PRIMARY SOURCES & REVIEW BOUNDARY
Read the regulator first, then the exact product filing
- SEC Investor Bulletin: Exchange-Traded Funds for market price, NAV, bid-ask spread, premium/discount and retail trading explanations.
- SEC Rule 6c-11 compliance guide for daily ETF disclosures, median bid-ask spread and premium/discount reporting. Commodity trusts may have a different legal structure, so confirm applicability.
- SPDR Gold Trust 2025 Form 10-K and iShares Gold Trust prospectus dated December 31, 2025 as product-specific examples of bullion custody, expenses and basket redemption terms.
Sources were reviewed August 2, 2026. GoldObserve does not republish holdings, NAV history or quotes from these issuers. Product fees, basket sizes, custodians, tax language and trading conditions can change; verify the latest prospectus, annual report, fund website and executable brokerage quote before acting.
GOLD ETF RESEARCH PATH
Continue with the next distinct decision
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Gold ETF cost calculator questions
Does the calculator use live ETF prices?
No. It uses only the assumptions visible on the page. Enter current product documents and an executable quote; no issuer holdings, NAV or market-price feed is fetched.
Why does the model include both spread and premium or discount?
The bid-ask spread is the gap between executable buy and sell quotes. Premium or discount compares market price with NAV. They are different frictions and should not be merged.
Is expense ratio the same as tracking difference?
No. Expense is a disclosed ongoing charge. Tracking difference is the realized return gap versus a defined benchmark and can include expenses, valuation timing, cash and operational effects.
Does the result include tax?
No. Tax depends on product structure, account, jurisdiction, holding period and investor facts. The calculator keeps tax outside rather than applying a false universal rate.
What does the cost crossover mean?
It is the first holding period in the selected range where the two user-entered net-value paths meet. It is conditional on every input, including the shared return scenario, and is not a recommendation or forecast.