Loading page
About this tool
Price making charges, GST, storage and buy-sell spread across jewellery, coins, digital gold and ETFs.
Jewellery, coins, digital gold and gold ETFs all hold the same metal, so the only thing that separates them is friction. This comparator prices that friction in four places — the entry charge (making charge, minting premium, platform spread or brokerage), the 3% GST charged on gold, the annual cost of carry such as an expense ratio or storage fee, and the deduction taken on the way out — then reports the effective cost per gram, the total charges paid across the holding period, and the annualised return actually realised.
Open Digital Gold vs Physical Gold Cost Comparator on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Enter the values you already know.
Fine-tune the options to match your scenario.
Read the result and use it in your planning or reporting.
A low headline charge can still lose to a format with no annual cost, and vice versa over long holdings.
Each format buys the same metal, so the honest comparison is which one loses least to charges.
Every charge is editable, because making charges and spreads differ by jeweller and by platform.
3% on the invoice value — 1.5% CGST plus 1.5% SGST. On jewellery supplied as a composite supply the 3% applies to the gold and the making charge together, so a ₹1.4 lakh purchase with ₹16,800 of making attracts roughly ₹4,700 of GST. Exchange-traded gold carries no GST on the metal itself, only 18% GST on brokerage.
Making charges and GST are paid at purchase but not returned at sale — a jeweller buys back the gold content, not the workmanship. On a typical 12% making charge plus 3% GST you start about 15% below spot, so the price has to rise by roughly that much before you break even.
Usually at entry, because there is no making charge — but the platform's buy-sell spread is a real cost of a few per cent, GST at 3% still applies, and free storage is typically offered only for a limited period before charges begin. It is cheaper than jewellery and roughly comparable to coins, depending on the spread.
Over a multi-year holding, the format with the lowest combined entry charge, GST, annual cost and exit deduction usually wins, and exchange-traded gold is normally the lowest-friction route because no GST is charged on the metal. Jewellery is the most expensive by a wide margin, which is fine if you want to wear it. This is informational, not investment advice.
Add the Digital Gold vs Physical Gold Cost Comparatorwidget to your blog or website — free, responsive, no signup. Just keep the “Widget by AltFTool” credit link visible.
<iframe src="https://www.altftool.com/embed/widget/digital-vs-physical-gold-comparator"
title="Digital Gold vs Physical Gold Cost Comparator — free AltFTool widget"
width="100%" height="640" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden"
loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:12px;margin:4px 0 0">Widget by <a href="https://www.altftool.com/tools/all/digital-vs-physical-gold-comparator?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=widget">AltFTool — free online tools</a></p>