What does bullion really cost?
A product quote and a delivered price answer different questions. The quote tells you what the metal product costs before any separate charges. The delivered price adds the payment surcharge, shipping, insurance and confirmed tax amounts you enter. Compare both against the same metal content and spot price.
This calculator uses your figures, not dealer listings. It does not find the cheapest seller or verify an offer. Every price is in Canadian dollars. A blank spot box stays blank: there is no assumed market price.
Enter the same unit
The quote, quantity and metal content must describe the same thing. If the quote is for one bar, enter the metal content of one bar. If it is for a package, enter the metal content of the entire package and count packages. Do not enter a package price alongside the weight of one coin inside it.
Positive fractional quantities are accepted for divisible holdings. For indivisible coins or bars, use whole numbers. A fractional coin size is different from a fractional count: two half-ounce coins are two units with half an ounce each.
Choose one metal-content method. Fine troy ounces are already the pure metal content per unit. Gross weight needs a weight unit and a fineness percentage. The tool converts gross weight to grams using the shared verified units, multiplies by fineness, then converts to fine troy ounces. It never applies fineness again to an explicit fine-ounce amount.
Count each charge once
The payment surcharge applies only to the product subtotal: unit quote times quantity. It does not apply to shipping, insurance or tax. If your quote already includes the surcharge, enter zero. If the seller uses a different surcharge basis, use its payment-inclusive unit quote and enter zero in the surcharge box.
Shipping, insurance and tax are total CAD amounts for the whole order, not percentages or per-unit costs. Enter only additional amounts. If insurance is bundled into shipping, enter it once in shipping and put zero in insurance. A blank charge is not treated as zero.
Confirm the tax amount with the seller, including zero, and tick the confirmation box. This calculator does not determine tax treatment, product eligibility or the tax on a separate service. The entered amount is simply added once.
How premiums are calculated
Metal value equals total fine troy ounces times your spot price. Product premium equals product subtotal minus metal value. Delivered premium equals delivered total minus metal value. Each premium percentage divides that difference by metal value, not by the purchase price.
Delivered cost per fine troy ounce equals delivered total divided by total fine ounces. This helps compare differently sized quotes without treating an alloy ounce as a pure ounce. Use the same metal and spot reference when comparing orders. A negative premium is shown, not silently changed to zero; check your inputs and the offer rather than treating that result as proof of a bargain.
A hypothetical order
These are invented inputs to explain the arithmetic, not current prices or a dealer offer. Two units containing one fine troy ounce each cost C$5,250 per unit. At an assumed spot price of C$5,000, the metal value is C$10,000 and the product subtotal is C$10,500. The product premium is C$500, or 5%.
A 2% payment surcharge on that subtotal adds C$210. Add C$25 shipping, C$10 separate insurance and an assumed seller-confirmed tax amount of C$0. The delivered total is C$10,745. That is C$5,372.50 per fine troy ounce, with a delivered premium of C$745, or 7.45%. The zero tax amount belongs only to this example; it is not a general tax rule.
What the result leaves out
This is a purchase-cost comparison, not an invoice or future return. Storage after delivery, financing and eventual selling costs are outside the total. No resale price, collector value or seller reliability is inferred. Calculations retain full precision until display, so rounded rows can differ by a cent from the rounded total.
The copy button creates a fragment link containing metal, quantity and weight inputs only. Prices, fees, rates and tax confirmation are excluded. Someone opening that link must enter their own costs and spot price. No query-string inputs are generated.
For buying routes, see where to buy gold in Canada.
Sources
- Weights and Measures Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. W-6), checked November 3, 2026