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Compare gold investments
Seven ways to hold gold, across 14 dimensions — regulation, minimum ticket, demat, SIP, GST, storage, spreads, physical delivery, tax framework and the risk that actually bites.
How to read this
- There is no winner column. Most of these options track the same metal, so the difference that survives is cost and access — not a ranking we invent.
- Exposure to gold's price is common to every column. The per-type rows describe how you hold it and what that costs, not whether gold will rise.
- Sovereign Gold Bonds are not listed. No fresh SGB tranche has been issued since February 2024, so they are not a current option — see the note on the hub.
What are you looking for?
Pick what matters to you and the table keeps only the options that fit. Nothing here is ranked.
Columns shown
Showing 3 of 7 options.
| Compared on | Digital goldFractional gold bought from a platform, stored by the seller. | Physical goldJewellery, coins and bars — metal you hold. | Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR)Exchange-traded receipt for gold sitting in a SEBI-registered vault. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment type | Platform balance representing gold | Jewellery, coins, bars | Exchange-traded vault receipt |
| Do you own the metal? | Not in hand; a claim on the seller | Yes, in your possession | Yes, economically — convertible to metal |
| Regulation / framework1 | Not RBI/SEBI-regulated as a security | No SEBI product framework; BIS hallmarking | SEBI Gold Exchange framework; registered vault managers |
| Minimum investment | As low as a few rupees on some platforms | 1 g coin upward; jewellery by weight | 10 mg at the smallest listed denomination |
| Liquidity | Only back to the same platform | Sell to a dealer at their buying rate | Exchange-traded; depth varies by contract |
| Demat account needed | No | No | Yes |
| SIP / recurring buying | Yes on platforms that offer it | No | No |
| GST2 | Depends on the platform's structure | 3% on metal; 5% on separately billed making charges | None on the receipt; GST on brokerage and charges |
| Storage | Platform stores it; charges vary | Your locker and insurance | SEBI-registered vault manager |
| Buy / sell spread | Platform's own buy vs sell price | Wide — dealer buy-back sits below retail | Exchange bid-ask |
| Physical delivery | Some platforms, in larger sizes | It is the metal | Yes, through the prescribed conversion process |
| Main use case | Very small, frequent purchases | Possession, gifting and jewellery | Exchange price discovery with the option to take delivery |
| Key risk to weigh3 | Seller/custody risk; no securities-market protection | Making charges and resale spread can outweigh gains | A young market — depth and exit price vary |
| Tax framework4 | Treated as a transfer of gold — confirm the treatment | Jewellery is a capital asset; long-term after 24 months, 12.5% | A security — the applicable holding-period test applies; confirm |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Framework facts, not advice, and not a ranking. Costs and rules change — confirm the current position with the provider before acting.
- 1.SEBI cautioned the public about digital gold in Nov 2025. Being exchange-traded or SEBI-regulated is not a statement about returns or safety — prices can fall in every row above.
- 2.Gold metal attracts 3% GST, and making charges billed separately attract 5%. When a jeweller bills one composite price for ready-made jewellery, the whole bill is taxed at 3%.
- 3.Every row is exposed to gold's own price. None of these instruments guarantees the metal's value back.
- 4.Framework only, and not filing advice. Rates follow the Income-tax Act as amended by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 (uniform 12.5% long-term rate, indexation removed) and the Finance Act 2026 edition of the Department's guidance. Confirm your own position with a tax adviser.
FAQs
Gold comparison questions
Frequently asked questions
Gold ETF or gold mutual fund — what is the difference?
Both give gold exposure without metal in hand. A gold ETF is a listed scheme whose units you buy on the exchange in a demat account; its price can drift from NAV when the scheme is thinly traded. A gold mutual fund is an unlisted fund of fund that you buy and redeem at NAV, which is what makes a monthly SIP straightforward — but it carries its own expense ratio on top of the underlying ETF's. Neither is better in the abstract; the trade-off is demat-plus-exchange execution against SIP convenience and a second layer of cost.
Is digital gold regulated in India?
Not as a securities product. SEBI issued a public caution in November 2025 stating that digital gold is not offered through SEBI-regulated gold products, and neither RBI nor SEBI regulates it under a dedicated framework. As of September 2026, the government is reported to be considering RBI/SEBI oversight with a 1:1 physical-backing requirement, but no official framework has been notified. Physical gold, gold ETFs, gold funds and EGRs each have their own, different framework.
What is an Electronic Gold Receipt?
An EGR is an exchange-traded security that represents a defined quantity of standardised gold held with a SEBI-registered vault manager. It sits in a demat account like a share, trades on the exchange with public price discovery, and can be converted to physical gold through the prescribed process. Exchange-listed denominations run from 10 mg to 1 kg in 999 and 995 purity.
Which gold investment gives the best return?
There is no single answer, and we do not rank gold products. Most gold instruments track the same metal price, so returns differ mainly by the costs you pay to hold them: expense ratios, making charges, storage, spreads and taxes. Use the comparison to filter by what you actually need and the calculators to price the costs, then decide.
How is gold taxed in India?
This is framework, not filing advice. The Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 removed indexation and set a uniform 12.5% long-term capital gains rate. The default long-term holding test is 24 months, and listed securities use a 12-month test — so listed gold ETFs are long-term after 12 months while unlisted gold fund units use 24 months. Jewellery is a capital asset, not a personal effect, so it is taxed on the same capital-gains basis. Exchange-traded derivatives are generally treated as business income at slab rates. Confirm your position with a tax adviser.
Framework facts reviewed 2026-09-20. Every cell describes a rule or a cost structure, not a recommendation, and none of it is live market data — LetsInvest has no gold price or NAV feed. Confirm the current position with the provider or your tax adviser before acting.