How are gold ETFs different from physical gold?

Gold ETFs and physical gold both track the price of gold, but the experience of owning them is very different.

When you buy physical gold, you’re buying jewelry, coins, or bars. These involve making charges, worries about purity, and the hassle of safe storage in lockers or at home. Selling it later can also involve bargaining and price cuts.

With Gold ETFs, you buy gold digitally through the stock market and hold it securely in your demat account. The gold is pure, securely stored, and priced transparently. There are no making charges, no storage worries, and you can buy or sell it as easily as a share. The best part? Your investment are regulated by SEBI.

Here’s the difference between physical gold and gold ETFs:

	Physical Gold	Gold ETFs
Security	Storage and security needed	No storage issues
Making charges	Making charges apply	No making charges
Purity	Purity concerns possible	Guaranteed purity
Liquidity	Lower liquidity	High liquidity on exchange
Costs	Higher costs over time	Cost-efficient