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Vaulted review 2026

By Nicolas Straut
Published 9 min read

Key takeaways

  • Vaulted charges about 1.8% over the spot price when you buy gold and 1.8% under spot when you sell. Storage at the Royal Canadian Mint costs 0.4% a year.1
  • You contract with McAlvany Precious Metals LLC, which says neither the SEC nor the CFTC regulates it. Your cash balance there isn't FDIC insured.
  • Consider Vaulted if you want gold bars held for you outside a brokerage. Before you buy, compare it with a gold ETF, which you can hold in an IRA.
In this article

Vaulted is a gold and silver app from McAlvany Financial Group, a precious metals firm in Colorado. You buy gold stored at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa or silver stored at HSBC in London.

This review covers the fees, who holds your metal, taxes, delivery, and leaving. It uses Vaulted's site and user agreement as of October 25, 2026.

What is Vaulted?

Vaulted is a mobile and web app for buying gold and silver that's stored for you in a vault and assigned to numbered bars. McAlvany Financial Group, founded in 1972 in Durango, Colorado, owns and runs Vaulted. You sign the user agreement with McAlvany Precious Metals LLC.

You get a "precious metals advisor" who works for McAlvany, but Vaulted's terms say neither Vaulted nor its affiliates is "your advisor or fiduciary." Several companies take part, and each has a different job.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
CompanyWhat it does
McAlvany Precious Metals LLCSells you metal, buys it back, and holds your cash
McAlvany Financial GroupOwns and runs Vaulted
International Collectors AssociatesListed as the seller on the App Store
Royal Canadian MintStores the gold in Ottawa
HSBC Bank UKStores the silver in London
Bureau VeritasAudits the gold and silver each year

Who is Vaulted for?

Vaulted is for you if you live in the US and want physical gold or silver kept outside your home. You also need to buy outside a retirement account.

Savers who want gold bars they don't store at home

Vaulted assigns your gold to 99.99% pure kilo bars at the Royal Canadian Mint, and the app shows each bar's serial number. If you own less than a kilo, you own a section of a bar, and the app shows where your section starts and ends.

People who want to buy a little at a time

VaultPlan moves a set amount from your checking account every two weeks or every month and buys gold or silver with it. You can change the amount or the schedule at any time.

Silver buyers

Vaulted gold and silver work the same way. Silver sits in 1,000-ounce bars at HSBC in London and costs more. You pay 3.0% over or under spot on each trade and 0.6% a year to store it.

Silver comes out only as coins or smaller bars.

Vaulted pros and cons

Vaulted's pros are its listed fees, numbered bars, Mint storage, and automatic buying. Its cons are the cost of buying and selling, no SEC or CFTC oversight, no IRAs, and no delivery of your own bar.

Vaulted pros

Fees listed on its site

Vaulted publishes its gold and silver premiums and storage fees, and the app shows your price before you buy.

Gold assigned to numbered bars

Vaulted allocates your gold to specific serial-numbered bars. It says neither it nor the vault can sell, lease, or pledge your gold.

Stored at the Royal Canadian Mint

The Government of Canada owns the Mint. Vaulted says Lloyd's of London insures every gold bar there.

Automatic buying with VaultPlan

You can buy gold or silver on a set schedule, straight from your checking account.

Vaulted cons

About 3.5% to buy and sell gold

Buying at 1.8% over spot and selling at 1.8% under means $1,000 of gold is worth about $965 if you sell right away.

Not regulated by the SEC or CFTC

Vaulted's terms say it isn't a broker-dealer, and neither the SEC nor the CFTC regulates it. So you get no SIPC coverage, and your cash there has no FDIC insurance.2 Tweed found no NFA or CFTC actions against McAlvany Precious Metals in NFA's BASIC database as of October 2026.

No IRAs

You can open a personal, joint, corporate, or trust account. Tax law lets an IRA hold bullion only when an IRA trustee holds it. So you'll buy with money outside your retirement accounts.3

You can't get your own kilo bar

Vaulted says it doesn't currently ship serial-numbered bars, so delivery means coins or smaller bars at higher premiums.

How Vaulted works

Vaulted works like a savings app. You move money in and buy gold or silver at a quoted price. The metal stays in a vault until you sell or ask for delivery.

Buying and selling

To buy Vaulted gold, you link a checking account through Plaid or send a wire, then tap Buy or Sell in the app. Orders run during New York Stock Exchange hours, and you generally can't cancel a market order. Vaulted's prices aren't published anywhere else, so the app is the only place to check them.

Money you send by ACH can't be withdrawn or used for delivery for 60 days, though you can buy and sell with it. A wire avoids the wait.

Who holds your gold

The Royal Canadian Mint holds the gold, and you hold title to your bars or bar sections as a nominee under Vaulted's user agreement.4 Each purchase is a "prepaid forward contract" with McAlvany Precious Metals for delivery of metal, and your bars serve as security for that promise.

The agreement says the metal is neither an asset nor a liability of the Mint or of McAlvany. Neither of them can pledge it as collateral for anyone else.

Bureau Veritas audits the holdings each year, and Vaulted posts the latest reports on its site.

Taking delivery

To take delivery, call or email your Vaulted advisor. Vaulted then sends coins or smaller bars from its US stock in place of your share of the kilo bar. Smaller products carry higher premiums and wider spreads, so you'll get fewer ounces than you hold in the app.

You'll pay a shipping fee based on size and destination, shown before you order, and Vaulted insures the metal in transit. Once it arrives, theft or damage is your risk.

How much does Vaulted cost?

Vaulted charges a premium on every buy and sell, built into its price, plus a yearly storage fee billed twice a year.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
FeeGoldSilver
Premium on each buy or sell0.8%2.0%
Gap between wholesale price and spot1%1%
Total vs spot, each way1.8%3.0%
Yearly storage (maintenance) fee0.4%0.6%
DeliveryShipping fee plus higher product premiumsShipping fee plus higher product premiums

Vaulted's FAQ bases the storage fee on the average value of your net purchases. Its user agreement charges the fee daily on the market value of the metal you hold.

Vaulted bills half in July and half in January. It takes the fee from your cash or, after 30 days unpaid, from your metal.

Here's what a buy and an immediate sale cost before any price change.

Scroll horizontally to see more columns.
You put inMetal at spotValue if you sell right awayCost to buy and sellStorage per year
$1,000 of gold$982.32$964.64$35.36About $4
$10,000 of gold$9,823.18$9,646.37$353.63About $40
$1,000 of silver$970.87$941.75$58.25About $6

Taxes when you sell

The IRS taxes long-term gains on collectibles at up to 28%, and gold and other metals count as collectibles for that rate under 26 U.S.C. 408(m).5

Vaulted's FAQ says its gold gets "the same capital gains tax treatment as stocks." Vaulted ties that to how it sets up its contract. Tweed hasn't confirmed the claim.

Vaulted sends a tax statement each February and sells your highest-cost purchases first by default, which lowers the taxable gain. The gold IRA vs gold ETF guide explains the collectibles rate, and a tax professional can check your own situation before you sell.

How much does it cost to leave Vaulted?

Leaving Vaulted costs the 1.8% gap below spot when you sell your gold (3.0% for silver), plus any storage fee you owe. Money you sent by ACH can't leave for 60 days.

When you sell, the money goes to your Vaulted cash balance. From there, it reaches your bank by ACH in about 2 to 3 business days, or by wire. If you funded by wire, you may need to ask your advisor for a wire back.

You can also leave with coins or bars, at product premiums plus shipping.

To close the account, empty it of cash and metal, tap Delete Account in Settings, and email Vaulted from the address on the account. Disputes go to mediation and then binding arbitration in Durango, Colorado, and you give up class actions.

Is Vaulted worth it in 2026?

Vaulted is worth it in 2026 if you want gold stored for you in a taxable account. Its storage matches what it promises: serial-numbered bars at the Royal Canadian Mint, yearly audits, and fees listed on its site.

The catch is delivery. You can't get your own bar today, and the coins you get instead cost extra premiums.

Vaulted is a precious metals dealer's app that earns on every buy, sell, and year of storage. You get Mint storage and small automatic buys, and you give up the protections of a regulated broker and the IRA option.

Consider Vaulted if you want physical gold held for you in a taxable account. Plan to hold it for years, so the 3.5% cost of buying and selling spreads out. It's a weaker fit if you want gold in an IRA, plan to trade often, or want SIPC or FDIC coverage on your cash.

Vaulted vs the alternatives

Vaulted vs the alternatives comes down to what you want to own. You can choose metal in a vault, a fund share in a brokerage account, or coins in your own hands. OneGold and BullionVault also store gold for you, and Tweed hasn't reviewed them.

Vaulted vs a gold ETF

A gold ETF holds gold for its shareholders and trades like a stock in a brokerage account, which you can open as an IRA. You can't ask the fund for delivery, but you get a regulated broker and SIPC coverage for the shares, not for their value.

Our GLD vs IAU vs GLDM comparison covers gold ETF fees. To buy one, see the Schwab review, the Interactive Brokers review, or our best brokerage accounts roundup.

Vaulted vs buying coins from a dealer

Buying coins from an online dealer puts the metal in your hands right away, but you pay a coin premium and store it yourself. Vaulted's delivery is close to the same purchase, made later from its own stock, and our APMEX vs JM Bullion comparison covers dealer premiums.

A 0.4% storage fee is small in one year, but it repeats every year you hold. See how yearly costs fit your other savings in the Tweed Retirement Calculator. If you want gold in a retirement account, start with our best IRA accounts roundup and the traditional IRA guide.

Frequently asked questions about Vaulted

Is Vaulted legit?

Yes, Vaulted is a real business. McAlvany Financial Group, a Durango, Colorado, gold firm founded in 1972, owns it, and you can reach Vaulted at 844.288.8024 or [email protected]. Before you fund an account, read the user agreement and turn on two-factor login, which Vaulted supports through Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy.

Does Vaulted pay interest on cash or gold?

No, Vaulted doesn't pay interest on cash or gold. Its user agreement calls the cash account non-interest-bearing, and gold and silver pay no interest or dividends. Your only return is a change in the metal's price, less the premiums and storage fees, so cash you haven't invested yet earns nothing.

What is the minimum to start on Vaulted?

Vaulted doesn't list a minimum on its website, and its user agreement says it may set a small minimum purchase. Third-party reviews quote $5, which one says came from customer service. Check the amount in the app before you fund your account, since it can change.

Does Vaulted report sales to the IRS?

Yes, Vaulted reports your gold and silver sales to the IRS on Form 1099-B, sent in January after the year you sell. Buying metal isn't reported. You don't file an FBAR for a Vaulted account, Vaulted says, because a US company keeps the account even though the gold is in Canada.

Is Vaulted the same as Vaulted Collection or Vaulted Loot?

No, Vaulted the gold app isn't related to Vaulted Collection, which sells cases for trading cards. It also isn't related to Vaulted Loot or similar card sellers on TikTok, and some "is Vaulted legit" posts are about those card businesses. McAlvany Financial Group runs the gold app at vaulted.com.

Is taking delivery of Vaulted gold taxable?

No, taking delivery isn't a taxable event, Vaulted's FAQ says, so it doesn't send a 1099 when your metal ships. Tax comes up when you later sell the coins or bars. Keep your Vaulted statements, because they show what you paid, and ask a tax professional how the IRS will tax your sale.

Can Vaulted ship gold outside the US?

No, Vaulted ships gold and silver only to US addresses, so you can't take delivery if you live outside the US. You can still buy and sell in the app if Vaulted accepts your account, and you can fund it by international wire. As a non-US taxpayer, you must send Form W-8BEN before selling.

Sources

  1. https://vaulted.com/faq/
  2. https://vaulted.com/terms/
  3. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/408
  4. https://secure.vaulted.com/resources/vaulted_eua.pdf
  5. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409
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