Best Gold ETF Canada: CGL.C, ZGLD, KILO, MNT Compared

Key takeaways

Yearly management fees for physical-gold funds range from 0.20% (ZGLD, ZGLH, KILO) to 0.50% (CGL.C, CGL), as of October 2026.
Hedged funds (CGL, ZGLH, KILO) try to remove the effect of the US dollar; non-hedged funds (CGL.C, ZGLD, KILO.B) move with gold priced in Canadian dollars.
XGD holds mining shares, so it can rise or fall much more than gold itself.
Physical bars make more sense if you want gold in your hands or to pass on; ETFs make more sense for low cost and easy selling.
Gold prices can go down as well as up. Past prices don’t predict future prices.

What is a gold ETF?

An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a fund that trades on a stock exchange like a share. A physical gold ETF uses your money to buy gold bars and keeps them in a vault. Each unit you own is a small slice of that gold, minus the fund’s fees.

You buy and sell units through a brokerage account, such as a bank’s online brokerage or a discount broker. You pay the market price of a unit, plus any trading commission, and you never handle the bars. Because there is no small bar to make or ship, you avoid the large premiums on small bars.

Gold is priced in US dollars around the world. That is why some funds offer a “hedged” version. More on that below.

Gold ETFs on the TSX compared (October 2026)

Fund	Ticker	What it holds	Currency	Yearly cost	Where the gold is
iShares Gold Bullion ETF	CGL.C	Physical gold	Not hedged	Fee 0.50%, MER 0.55%	Not stated on the product page
iShares Gold Bullion ETF	CGL	Physical gold	Hedged to CAD	Fee 0.50%, MER 0.56%	Not stated on the product page
BMO Gold Bullion ETF	ZGLD (ZGLD.U in USD)	Physical gold, 400 oz bars	Not hedged	Fee 0.20%, MER 0.23% (ETF Facts, Jan 2025)	BMO vault in Toronto
BMO Gold Bullion Hedged to CAD ETF	ZGLH	Physical gold	Hedged to CAD	Fee 0.20%	BMO vault in Toronto
Purpose Gold Bullion Fund	KILO (hedged), KILO.B (not hedged), KILO.U (USD)	Physical 1 kg bars, allocated	Hedged or not	Fee 0.20%	Royal Canadian Mint
Royal Canadian Mint Gold Reserves (exchange-traded receipts)	MNT (CAD), MNT.U (USD)	Receipts for gold held by the Mint	Not hedged	Service fee 0.35% a year	Royal Canadian Mint
Sprott Physical Gold Trust (closed-end trust)	PHYS (CAD), PHYS.U (USD)	Physical gold, fully allocated	Not hedged	Management fee 0.35% a year	Royal Canadian Mint (custodian)
iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF	XGD	Shares of 67 gold mining companies	Not hedged	Fee 0.55%, MER 0.61%	Holds no gold

Fees from each issuer’s own page, checked October 23, 2026 (BMO MER from its January 2025 ETF Facts; Sprott fee from its March 2025 report). The MER (management expense ratio) is the management fee plus the fund’s other costs. Where we show only the fee, check the latest ETF Facts for the MER. Listing order is not a ranking.

Hedged or not hedged: which gold ETF moves how?

Gold trades in US dollars. When the Canadian dollar falls against the US dollar, gold in Canadian dollars goes up a little, even if the US dollar price stays the same. When the Canadian dollar rises, the opposite happens.

Not hedged (CGL.C, ZGLD, KILO.B, MNT): follows the gold price in Canadian dollars. This matches the price you see for a bar in a Canadian store.
Hedged to CAD (CGL, ZGLH, KILO): uses currency contracts to strip out the US dollar move, so it follows the US dollar gold price more closely. Hedging has a cost, and the result will not match perfectly.

Neither is better in all years. Ask yourself which price you want to follow. If you compare the fund with gold bars sold in Canada, the non-hedged version is the closer match.

Why is XGD different from a gold bullion ETF?

XGD tracks the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index. It owns shares of gold mining companies, not gold. On October 22, 2026, it held 67 companies, and the largest, Newmont, was about 17.5% of the fund.

Miners’ profits depend on the gold price, but also on their costs, debts, mines and management. So mining shares often rise more than gold when gold goes up, and fall more when it goes down. A mining ETF can also pay distributions (XGD pays twice a year), because companies pay dividends. Gold itself pays no interest or dividends.

If you want “gold”, a bullion fund is the closer match. If you want gold-mining businesses, that is a different investment with different risks.

What should you look at when comparing gold ETFs?

What it holds. Physical gold, receipts or mining shares.
Yearly cost. The MER is taken from the fund every year. For example, on $10,000, a 0.20% fee is about $20 a year and a 0.55% MER is about $55.
Currency. Hedged or not hedged, and whether it trades in CAD or USD.
Trading costs. Your broker’s commission and the bid-ask spread (the gap between buy and sell prices). Bigger funds usually trade more easily.
Where the gold is kept. Some funds hold gold in Canada (the BMO vault in Toronto, or the Royal Canadian Mint).
Registered accounts. iShares says CGL.C and CGL are eligible for registered plans. See gold in a TFSA or RRSP.

This is general information, not advice. Read each fund’s ETF Facts before you buy. Gold prices can go down as well as up. Past prices don’t predict future prices.

When does physical gold make more sense than an ETF?

An ETF is usually cheaper and easier to sell. Physical gold can make more sense when:

You want something you can hold, or to give as a gift at a wedding or festival.
You want gold that does not depend on a broker or a fund.
You plan to keep it for a long time and do not mind storage costs.

The costs differ. A physical bar has a premium when you buy and a lower price when you sell, plus storage. An ETF has a yearly fee but almost no buy-sell gap. For a 1 oz bar, TD’s premium was about 2.2% on October 23, 2026; a 1 g bar was about 24%. See TD gold bars and how to invest in gold in Canada.

There is also a middle path for small amounts: RemitBee Gold, from our sponsor, is coming in early 2027 with pure 24K gold from $10, stored in an insured vault in Canada.

To plan how much to put away each month, try the gold savings planner, and follow the gold price in Canada today.

Common questions

What is the best gold ETF in Canada?

There is no single best one; it depends on what you want. Physical-gold funds on the TSX include CGL.C, CGL, ZGLD, ZGLH, KILO, MNT and PHYS. Compare the yearly cost, whether it is hedged, and how easily it trades. We do not give investment advice.

What is the difference between CGL and CGL.C?

Both are the iShares Gold Bullion ETF and hold physical gold. CGL is hedged to the Canadian dollar; CGL.C is not hedged. As of October 2026, CGL’s MER is 0.56% and CGL.C’s is 0.55%.

Is ZGLD hedged?

No. ZGLD is BMO’s non-hedged gold bullion ETF. ZGLH is the version hedged to the Canadian dollar, and ZGLD.U trades in US dollars. BMO lists a 0.20% management fee for each.

Is XGD a gold ETF?

XGD holds shares of gold mining companies, not gold bullion. Its value depends on the miners’ businesses as well as the gold price, so it usually moves more than gold.

Can I hold a gold ETF in a TFSA?

Many can. iShares says CGL and CGL.C are eligible for registered plans. Check with your broker and read our TFSA and RRSP gold guide.

Sources

Checked against these sources on October 24, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Best gold ETFs in Canada (and when physical gold makes more sense)