What it costs to hold gold and silver
Holding a 1 kg gold bar for 3 years costs about 5.7% of its value with Eona (AED 30,151), against 7.4% (AED 39,422) to store it yourself with insurance at typical costs.
Bar value used: AED 531,300 (illustrative). Percentages are total costs over the period as a share of the bar's value.
The routes
What each route costs
Typical costs for each route, as a share of the bar's value. Every figure links to its source in the list at the end of the page. Figures marked Estimate have no published source and are our own assumption.
| Cost | Bar at home | Bar in a bank box | Gold jewellery | Eona |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buying | Dealer premium: gold 2.0%[1]Silver 2.5–3.0% EstimateLowest-dealer average 1.8% [2] | Same as at home | Making charge 10% of gold value EstimateUAE range AED 3–30 per gram [6] | Price premium: gold 1.00%, silver 2.50%, plus commission 1.00% + 5% VATDaily premium or discount can apply on top |
| Selling | Buy-back below spot: gold 2.0%, silver 4.0%Low end of the 2–8% range [3] | Same as at home | Making charge not recovered, 3% resale deduction Estimate[7] | Price discount: gold 1.00%, silver 2.50%, plus commission 1.00% + 5% VAT |
| VAT | 0% on investment bars of 99% purity or more[4] | 0%, and 5% on box rent[4] [5] | 5% on the full price[8] | 0% on the metal; 5% on commission and storageeona.ae/rates |
| Keeping it | Home safe AED 2,000 once Estimate | Box rent AED 735 a year (small box)[5] | None | Storage 0.50% a year for gold, 1.00% for silver, + 5% VAT |
| Insurance | 1.0% a yearUAE valuables cover runs about 0.4–1.5% a year [11]. Standard home policies often exclude bullion or cap single items at AED 10,000–40,000 [10] [12], so specialist cover is needed. | 1.0% a yearBanks generally don't insure box contents [5] [13] | None counted | Loomis maintains insurance under its own policy. Eona does not promise it covers you directly or in full. |
Why the difference
Where the savings come from
No safe, box or insurance to buy
Storing a bar yourself means paying for a safe or a bank box, and insuring it separately. A standard home policy usually caps a single item far below the value of a bar.
Storage scales with what you hold
Eona charges a percentage of your metal's value with no minimum. A box rent or a safe is a fixed cost, which weighs heavily on smaller bars and on silver.
No making charges
Jewellery carries a making charge and 5% VAT on the full price. Neither comes back when you sell.
VAT only on the service
Investment bars are zero-rated. Eona charges VAT on its commission and storage fee, not on the metal.
Method
How we calculate it
- Same bar, same period. Each route holds the same bar for 1, 3 or 5 years.
- All costs in and out. We add what you pay to buy, what you lose when you sell, and what you pay each year to keep and insure the bar.
- As a share of value. We express the total as a percentage of the bar's value when bought, so moves in the metal price don't change the comparison. Fixed costs in AED are converted using an illustrative bar value.
- Typical costs. We use typical market costs from published sources. Some buyers pay less than typical.
- Eona's cost. Eona's fixed price premium, commission with VAT, and storage with VAT. A daily premium or discount can apply on top; on the live page the comparison uses the current Eona price.
- Only real savings. "Save up to" is the difference between Eona and the higher typical cost of storing the bar yourself, at home or in a bank box. If Eona is not cheaper, we show no saving.
When you could pay less than with Eona
- If you buy and sell at a dealer's lowest prices and already own a safe, keeping the bar at home can cost less.
- A low-cost bank box can cost less for a large gold bar over one to three years.
- Keeping a bar without insurance costs less, but you carry the full risk of loss or theft.
Questions
Yes, at typical market costs. Of the routes compared, Eona costs the least: less than storing an insured bar at home or in a bank box, for every bar and holding period shown, and much less than buying gold jewellery. The comparison above shows each cost and its source.