Guide · 2 min read

Gold CFD, ETF, futures or physical gold: how they differ

Short answer: Physical gold is owned metal with storage costs and a dealer's margin. A gold ETF holds gold for you and charges a yearly fee. Futures are exchange contracts that expire. A CFD is a contract with your broker that follows the price, with leverage, a spread and overnight costs, and no ownership. Short-term traders use CFDs and futures; long-term holders usually use metal or ETFs.

Published: 24 October 2026.

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All four follow the same market, but they cost different things and carry different risks. Pick by how long you hold, how much you can risk and what you want to own.

Side by side

Physical: you own bars or coins. Costs: the dealer's margin on the way in and out, storage and insurance. No leverage.
ETF: a fund share. Costs: a yearly fee and the fund's spread. No leverage in the plain version.
Futures: an exchange contract that expires, usually 100 troy ounces. See XAUUSD vs gold futures.
CFD: a contract with your broker, with leverage. Costs: the spread, maybe commission, and the swap.

Leverage changes the risk

A CFD lets you control more gold than your deposit, which multiplies gains and losses. See gold margin and leverage. Physical gold and plain ETFs cannot lose more than you paid.

Who each one suits

Holding for years: metal or an ETF, where the yearly cost is low.
Trading days or weeks: futures or CFDs, where you can go short and size small.
Wanting to touch it: physical.

Taxes and rules differ by country. Ask a tax professional where you live.

If you choose CFDs

Size from your stop and your limits before anything else. See how to calculate lot size for gold and the position size calculator. Check what one lot holds in troy ounces and grams.

The Monthly Pass and the Lifetime Pass are software licences for your own MetaTrader account. They score every robot and strategy you run the same way, with costs inside every number. See the plans.

FAQ

What is the difference between a gold CFD and physical gold?

A CFD is a contract with your broker that follows the gold price. You never own gold, you can use leverage and sell short, and you pay a spread and overnight costs. Physical gold is owned metal, with storage and a dealer's margin.

What is a gold ETF?

A fund that holds gold, or follows its price, and trades like a share. Buying it needs no leverage and no storage, but it charges a yearly fee and is not the metal in your hands.

Which is cheapest for a long-term holder?

Usually not a leveraged CFD, whose swap costs add up. For holding for years, the yearly fee of an ETF or the dealer margin and storage of metal matter more.

Can I lose more than I put in?

With leverage, losses can be large relative to your deposit. Brokers in some countries offer protection against a negative balance, others do not. Physical gold and unleveraged ETFs cannot lose more than you paid.

Do taxes differ between them?

Often yes, and the rules differ by country. Gains on physical gold, funds, futures and CFDs can all be treated differently. Ask a tax professional where you live.

Which one does BaroqTech's software work with?

The desk reads your own MetaTrader 5 account, which means CFDs and similar leveraged contracts that your broker offers. It does not buy or sell gold of any kind.

Gold EA Checking Kit, $9

Every check from these articles, on one printable page.

An educational tool. It is not investment advice. Trading leveraged products such as gold CFDs carries a high risk of losing money, and you can lose all of it.

BaroqTech makes software. It is not investment advice and it does not manage money. Trading leveraged products such as gold CFDs carries a high risk of losing money, and you can lose all of it. Results from a test or from a demo account do not predict results on a real account.

Free book · PDF · 6 pages and 1 more

The Gold Field Guide

The gold day hour by hour, the six forces behind the price and the releases worth a place in your calendar.

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The record: every idea tested so farEach trading idea BaroqTech has put through the same tests, with the failures.

Gold CFD, ETF, futures or physical gold: how they differ

Side by side

Leverage changes the risk

Who each one suits

If you choose CFDs

FAQ

Gold EA Checking Kit, $9

Keep reading

Markets in numbers

Compared

Seasonality

Volatility

Price history

Best time to trade

Moving averages

Market correlations

RSI

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