Platinum vs. Gold: Which Is More Expensive, and Is Platinum Better?

Gold is the more expensive of the two, and has been for a while: on U.S. Geological Survey yearly average prices, an ounce of gold cost more than an ounce of platinum in every year from 2015 through 2025. Before that it ran the other way, with platinum above gold in every year from 1991 through 2011.

Is platinum more expensive than gold?

Gold is the more expensive one today. Platinum used to be.

The figures below are yearly average prices per troy ounce from the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries, which report yearly averages of published trade price quotations. We've rounded them to the dollar. Past prices don't tell you future prices.

We haven't printed a current price. Both metals move every trading day, and any number here would be stale by the time you read it.

When did it flip?

Twice, in this series. Gold's yearly average passed platinum's for the first time in 2012. Platinum went back on top in 2013 and 2014. Then gold moved ahead in 2015 and stayed ahead in each of the eleven years through 2025.

The gap has been wide in both directions. In 2008 platinum averaged about 1.8 times gold's price. In 2025, by the USGS estimate, gold averaged about 2.75 times platinum's. Our USGS figures start in 1991, so we're making no claim about earlier decades.

So if you searched "platinum and gold, which is more expensive" and remember platinum being the pricier one, your memory is fine. Credit cards and record awards still rank platinum above gold. The metals themselves traded places about a decade ago. That's a record of what happened, and it says nothing about what either price does next.

How rare is each one?

Platinum is far rarer, measured by what comes out of the ground each year. The USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries published in February 2026 estimate 2025 world mine production at about 170,000 kilograms of platinum, or 170 metric tons. For gold the estimate is 3,300 metric tons. That's roughly 19 ounces of new gold for every ounce of new platinum.

Supply is also concentrated. South Africa mined an estimated 120 of those 170 tons, about 70%, with Russia and Zimbabwe next. Gold comes from many more places. The USGS says the five largest producers, led by China, Russia and Australia, together made up 41% of the 2025 total.

You can read both data sheets yourself: platinum-group metals and gold.

What is each metal used for?

The two metals have different customers, and that explains most of the price story.

The platinum list is the USGS description of U.S. uses for the platinum-group metals, where catalytic converters are named as the leading use. The gold percentages are the USGS breakdown of estimated global gold consumption, leaving out exchange-traded funds.

Platinum is mostly an industrial material. Gold mostly ends up being worn, stored in a vault, or held by a central bank. Nothing on the platinum list matches that last buyer.

Why does platinum's price move so differently?

Three features of the market stand out, and none of them is a forecast.

• It's a small market. A year of mined platinum is about one-nineteenth of a year of mined gold by weight, so a change in supply or demand that gold would absorb can move platinum a long way.
• Supply sits in a few places. When about 70% comes from one country, that country's mining costs, power supply and labor conditions show up in the price. The USGS tied a 9% drop in South African output in 2025 to costs and electricity disruptions.
• Demand follows factories. Carmakers buy platinum when they build vehicles that need it. They can also swap between platinum and palladium in catalytic converters. The USGS says palladium has replaced platinum in most gasoline-engine converters because it historically cost less.

You can see it in the yearly averages. From 2008 to 2009 platinum's fell about 23% while gold's rose about 12%. From 2014 to 2015 platinum's dropped about 24% and gold's about 8%.

It hasn't always been platinum making the bigger move. In 2025 gold's yearly average rose 38% and platinum's rose 25%. The two metals answer to different buyers and don't keep step. The same is true of gold and silver, which we compare in gold vs. silver.

Which metals are more valuable than gold?

A few, per ounce, depending on the year. All of these are USGS yearly averages, and the same caution applies: past prices don't tell you future prices.

Rhodium and iridium belong to the platinum group and are used in industry. You won't find them among the U.S. Mint's bullion coins, and the tax code doesn't allow them in an IRA. A metal more expensive than gold isn't a better thing to own on that account. A high price per ounce tells you what an ounce cost that year.

Platinum coins and platinum bullion: what do people buy?

The platinum coins you'll run into come from government mints, and the common ones share one size and one purity.

• American Eagle platinum coin. U.S. Mint, one troy ounce, .9995 fine, $100 face value, first issued in 1997.
• Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf. Royal Canadian Mint, one ounce, 99.95% pure, 50 Canadian dollars face value.
• Australian Platinum Kangaroo. Perth Mint, one ounce, 99.95% pure, 100 Australian dollars face value.

The U.S. Mint says it sells its bullion coins to the public through a network of Authorized Purchasers, so you buy from a dealer and not from the Mint itself.

Platinum bullion also comes as bars, mostly from private refiners, stamped with weight and fineness. Our guide to coins vs. bullion explains how the two are priced.

Buying platinum: what to check

The steps are the same as for gold. Compare the price of the item with the metal's spot price at that minute, and ask what the dealer would pay to buy it back. Platinum is a much smaller market, so expect fewer products to choose from, and get both the buying and the selling price in writing before you pay.

Three of our guides apply to platinum without changes: buying physical metal outside an IRA, storing it, and how selling works.

Is platinum better than gold?

They're different materials with different buyers, and we don't rate one above the other.

What you can compare are facts. Platinum is rarer and mostly industrial. Gold has a far larger market, more products, and buyers that include central banks. Each one's return comes from its price, and both prices move. Which you own, and how much, is your decision. This page is education, not personal advice.

Can you hold platinum in an IRA?

Yes, if it clears the test in section 408(m)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Platinum bullion has to be at least as fine as a regulated futures exchange requires for delivery, which is 99.95%, and the IRA's trustee has to keep physical possession of it. American Eagle platinum coins are also allowed by name, through 31 U.S.C. 5112(k).

Not every custodian takes platinum, and those that do keep their own product lists. Our guide to IRA-approved coins and bars covers which products qualify across all four metals, and the precious metals IRA guide explains the account, the companies involved and the costs. How any IRA is taxed is a question for IRS Publications 590-A and 590-B and a tax professional.

Platinum vs. white gold in jewelry

These look alike in a display case and aren't the same thing. Platinum jewelry is nearly pure. Under the Federal Trade Commission's Jewelry Guides, a piece sold simply as "platinum" should be at least 950 parts per thousand platinum, and lower grades carry a number such as "850Plat." White gold is yellow gold alloyed with white metals. A 14-karat piece is 14 parts gold out of 24, or 58.3%, and an 18-karat piece is 75%.

Some white gold is plated with rhodium for color. A jeweler can tell you whether a piece is plated and what replating costs. Jewelry of either metal is priced for design and labor as well as metal, a buyer of used jewelry pays for the metal, and no jewelry qualifies for an IRA.

Common questions

Is platinum more expensive than gold right now?

We don't print live prices. On USGS yearly averages, gold has been above platinum in every year from 2015 through 2025. Check a current quote for both before you compare, and remember that past prices don't tell you future prices.

Why is platinum cheaper than gold if it's rarer?

Because rarity is only the supply side. Most platinum demand is industrial, led by catalytic converters. Gold's buyers include jewelry makers, people who hold bars and coins, and central banks, which the USGS put at 21% of 2025 gold consumption.

What metal is more expensive than gold?

On 2025 USGS estimates, rhodium at about $5,800 an ounce and iridium at about $4,400, against about $3,300 for gold. Palladium averaged more than gold from 2019 through 2022. These rankings have changed before.

Are platinum coins legal tender?

Government-issued ones are. The American Eagle platinum coin has a $100 face value and the Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf has a 50 Canadian dollar one. Face value is far below the value of the metal, so nobody spends them.

Is platinum better than gold for a ring?

It's a matter of taste and budget. Platinum jewelry is close to pure and heavier on the hand. White gold is an alloy, and some pieces are rhodium plated. Ask the jeweler for the metal stamp and any plating details.

We base our guides on primary sources such as the IRS, the Department of Labor, and federal regulators. Read our editorial policy. Spot an error? Tell us.