About this calculator
This calculator is for education only and does not constitute investment advice. Physical gold always costs more than its metal: minting, distribution and the dealer's margin sit on top of the spot price, and that gap is the premium. When you sell, you get roughly the metal value back — so the premium is the hurdle the spot price must clear before you profit.
The default $4,000 spot price is as of 2026-10-27, not a live quote: this page fetches no market data, so enter the current spot price before trusting any figure. A negative premium — paying below spot — is rare and usually means the weight, purity or quote is wrong; check the inputs before believing it.
How to use it
- Enter the total price you paid, including any fees the dealer charged.
- Enter the current spot price per troy ounce (the default is only an example).
- Enter the weight in troy ounces (1 troy ounce = 31.1035 grams).
- Read the premium, the break-even spot price, and whether the position is currently ahead or behind.
The formula
The break-even spot price is the cleanest number on the page: at that spot price the metal value exactly equals what you paid, so any spot price above it is profit and any below it is loss, before selling costs. The premium percentage is measured against the metal value, not the buy price — a $300 premium on $4,000 of metal is 7.50%, not 6.98%. Selling spreads and taxes are excluded, so the real break-even is slightly higher.
Worked example
Pay $4,300 for a 1-ounce coin when spot is $4,000 per ounce (as of 2026-10-27): the metal value is $4,000, so the premium is $300 — 7.50% over spot. The break-even spot price is $4,300 per ounce, and at today's $4,000 spot the position shows a $300 loss. Spot must rise $300 before the coin breaks even, before any selling costs.
Sources: Premium = buy price − spot × weight; break-even spot = buy price / weight. Spot is user-entered; no live price feed. Premiums reflect minting, distribution and dealer margin, not metal content. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What does the premium pay for?
Minting and refining, assay and certification, distribution to dealers, and the dealer's margin. Small coins and bars carry higher percentage premiums than large bars because the fixed costs spread over less metal.
Is the spot price live?
No. This page fetches no market data — the $4,000 default is as of 2026-10-27, not a live quote. Enter the current spot price from your own quote source; stale spot prices silently flatter or condemn the result.
Why is my premium negative?
Almost always an input error: weight entered in grams instead of troy ounces, a spot price in the wrong currency, or a buy price missing fees that were actually charged. Fix the inputs first; genuine below-spot physical metal is rare.
Does break-even include selling costs?
No. Dealers buy back below spot, so the true break-even is the stated figure plus the selling spread. The page shows the metal break-even; add your dealer's buy-back spread for the real one.
What formula does this gold premium break-even calculator use?
Metal value = spot × weight; premium = buy price − metal value; premium % = premium / metal value; break-even spot = buy price / weight; P&L = metal value − buy price The break-even spot price is the cleanest number on the page: at that spot price the metal value exactly equals what you paid, so any spot price above it is profit and any below it is loss, before selling costs. The premium percentage is measured against the metal value, not the buy price — a $300 premium on $4,000 of metal is 7.50%, not 6.98%. Selling spreads and taxes are excluded, so the real break-even is slightly higher. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.