When you compare iTrustCapital and IRA Financial head to head, iTrustCapital comes out on top for the vast majority of investors. It is a focused crypto and precious-metals platform with 300,000+ accounts opened, more than $17 billion in processed transactions, 100+ cryptocurrencies, physical gold and silver, ETH and SOL staking, stablecoin rewards, and stocks arriving in summer 2026 together in one simple account. There are no monthly, annual, or setup fees; iTrustCapital charges a 1% crypto transaction fee, while IRA Financial charges a recurring annual fee on every account. iTrustCapital also leads on trust, with 15,000+ excellent reviews averaging 4.9 out of 5 stars. For the everyday investor, iTrustCapital is the stronger choice compared to IRA Financial.
iTrustCapital vs. IRA Financial
iTrustCapital and IRA Financial both give investors access to assets that are typically unavailable through traditional brokerages, but the similarities largely end there. IRA Financial is a self-directed IRA provider built to hold a broad range of alternative assets inside retirement accounts. iTrustCapital, by contrast, is a more focused platform built around crypto and precious metals, with access available through Crypto IRAs, taxable Premium Custody Accounts, and Treasury Accounts for businesses, trusts, and nonprofits.
This is not simply an IRA comparison. It is a broader look at two different platforms, evaluated across the factors that matter most to investors: account types, available assets, fees, ease of use, reputation, and security.
For most investors looking to buy and sell crypto or precious metals, iTrustCapital is the stronger choice. It is purpose-built for these asset classes, supported by one of the most established track records in the space, secure storage across multiple institutions, and thousands of top-rated reviews, all within a single, easy-to-use platform. IRA Financial may be a better fit for investors who want access to a wider range of alternative assets, such as real estate or tax liens. But for investors focused on crypto, precious metals, simplicity, and security, iTrustCapital comes out ahead.
Platform background
iTrustCapital: Since 2018, iTrustCapital has focused on one mission: making it simple and secure to buy and sell cryptocurrency and physical precious metals inside tax-advantaged* accounts. That focus has paid off at a scale few competitors approach: 300,000+ accounts, more than $17 billion in transactions, 15,000+ excellent reviews across Google and Trustpilot, an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, and stocks on the way. Because the whole company is engineered around digital assets, everything from custody to pricing to support is purpose-built. Client service is a major focus too, backed by an award-winning, U.S.-based support team.
IRA Financial: IRA Financial is an alternative-asset provider serving about 27,000 clients and roughly $7 billion in assets. Crypto is just one item on a broad menu that also includes real estate, private placements, and tax liens. That range is useful, but it means digital assets are never the company’s sole priority.
Scope and account types
iTrustCapital covers the account types that matter to most people, and goes further for entities.
iTrustCapital: iTrustCapital offers Traditional, Roth, SEP, and rollover IRAs designed specifically to hold crypto and metals. There are no setup fees, no startup fees, and no exit fees, so you can get going right away. It also goes beyond personal retirement: a Premium Custody Account lets you buy, sell, and store crypto outside an IRA, and a Treasury Account gives businesses, trusts, and nonprofits the same institutional-grade access to crypto, which most competitors don’t offer at all.
IRA Financial: It offers more account labels, including Self-Directed IRAs, Checkbook IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and HSAs. But its fuller-control structures come with setup fees (up to $999 on the Checkbook IRA and Solo 401(k)) plus ongoing LLC paperwork and compliance work that land on you, and it has no direct equivalent to iTrustCapital’s Treasury offering for entities.
What you can buy and sell
The question that matters is whether a platform covers what you’ll actually invest in.
iTrustCapital: It delivers the combination most investors want in a single account: 100+ cryptocurrencies alongside physical gold and silver, with Ethereum and Solana staking and stablecoin rewards so eligible assets can earn rewards while they sit in an account. Crypto, metals, staking, and stablecoin rewards live together, with no separate products, no extra accounts, and no juggling. But that’s not all – the company announced that stocks will join the platform in summer 2026, letting investors buy and sell individual equities right alongside cryptocurrency and physical precious metals inside a single account. That makes iTrustCapital one of the only platforms where you can toggle between all three asset classes from one dashboard, rather than scattering them across separate providers.
IRA Financial: Through a self-directed account it can technically hold almost anything, including real estate, private equity, and tax liens, and its IRAfi Crypto product lists close to 100 coins via Bitstamp. The trade-off is fragmentation: IRAfi Crypto is crypto-only and offers no staking, while metals and other alternatives require separate, higher-fee accounts.
Fees
iTrustCapital: There are no monthly, annual, setup, exit, storage, or transfer fees, ever. You’re never charged simply for holding your assets. The cost is a 1% transaction fee when you buy or sell crypto (metals are priced over spot), so your fees scale with activity, not with the size of your balance or the passage of time.
IRA Financial: Every IRA Financial account carries a recurring annual fee: $100 a year for the crypto-only IRAfi product and $399 to $495 a year for its broader accounts, with setup charges up to $999 on some. IRAfi Crypto also carries a 1% transaction fee for buys and sells.
Customer reviews and reputation
Reputation at scale is hard to fake, and this is a clear gap.
iTrustCapital: iTrustCapital has over 15,000 excellent reviews across Google and Trustpilot, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. That mix of high volume and consistency is rare in financial services, and it reflects a large, genuinely satisfied client base. The platform has also won a string of industry awards for customer experience, driven by its U.S.-based, in-house client support team.
IRA Financial: IRA Financial’s feedback is solid but spread thinner: about 4.7 stars on Trustpilot across roughly 1,880 reviews, and 4.3 stars on Google across around 400 reviews. Customers tend to praise its knowledgeable support, but the smaller review base and lower Google rating don’t match iTrustCapital’s reach or consistency.
Custody and security
iTrustCapital: Clients crypto assets are secured across multiple institutional storage providers, including Coinbase Prime, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Fireblocks, while client USD is held with regulated banks and custodians. iTrustCapital never takes custody of client assets and never borrows or lends against them; assets are held 1:1 and off balance sheet. Spreading storage across several top-tier institutions means there is no single point of failure.
IRA Financial: IRAfi Crypto assets are held through a single venue, the Bitstamp exchange. For context, IRA Financial was involved in 2022 litigation after roughly $36 million in customer crypto was taken in connection with a former exchange partner (Gemini), a reminder of the risk of concentrating assets in one exchange.
Side-by-side comparison
Why iTrustCapital Wins
IRA Financial earns a look from investors who are looking to invest in real estate, private businesses, or tax liens, under one self-directed roof.
But as a whole platform, iTrustCapital is the better choice for nearly anyone who wants to invest in crypto and precious metals. It brings crypto, gold, silver, staking, and stablecoin rewards together in one easy-to-use account, with no monthly, annual, setup, or exit fees, 300,000+ accounts and $17B+ in transactions behind it, 15,000+ excellent reviews averaging 4.9 out of 5 stars, and crypto custody spread across Coinbase Prime, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Fireblocks.
It also goes well beyond retirement: alongside its IRAs, a Premium Custody Account covers everyday investing outside an IRA, and a Treasury Account gives businesses, trusts, and nonprofits the same institutional-grade access. With stocks arriving in summer 2026, iTrustCapital is becoming a true one-stop platform, with crypto, metals, and stocks under one roof. If you want scale, security, and simplicity, iTrustCapital is the clear choice for 2026 and the years ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is iTrustCapital better than IRA Financial?
For most people investing in crypto and precious metals, yes. iTrustCapital is purpose-built for digital assets and metals, with a larger track record (300,000+ accounts and over $17 billion in transactions), no recurring account fees, and crypto custody spread across multiple institutions. IRA Financial is the better fit mainly if you specifically need to hold exotic assets like real estate, a private business, or tax liens in a self-directed account.
What fees does iTrustCapital charge?
There are no monthly, annual, setup, exit, or storage fees. You pay a 1% transaction fee when you buy or sell crypto, and physical metals are priced over spot. Your costs scale with activity, not with how much you hold or how long you hold it.
How many cryptocurrencies can I buy on iTrustCapital?
iTrustCapital offers 100+ cryptocurrencies, along with physical gold and silver, all in one account. You can also stake Ethereum and Solana and access stablecoin rewards so eligible assets can earn rewards while they stay in the account, with stocks arriving in summer 2026.
Is iTrustCapital safe?
Client crypto is secured across multiple institutional storage providers, including Coinbase Prime, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Fireblocks so there is no single point of failure, while client USD is held with regulated banks and custodians. Assets are held 1:1 and off balance sheet, and iTrustCapital never borrows or lends against them.
Can businesses, trusts, or nonprofits use iTrustCapital?
Yes. iTrustCapital’s Treasury Account gives businesses, trusts, nonprofits, and other entities institutional-grade access to buy, sell, and custody crypto. For individuals who want to invest outside a retirement account, a Premium Custody Account covers everyday taxable investing.
Can I rollover an old 401(k) into iTrustCapital?
Yes. You can roll over old employer plans such as a 401(k), 403(b), or TSP into an iTrustCapital IRA, which lets you regain control of those savings and invest them in crypto and precious metals in one account.
iTrustCapital is a fintech software platform for alternative assets. iTrustCapital is not an exchange, funding portal, custodian, trust company, licensed broker, dealer, broker-dealer, investment advisor, investment manager or adviser. iTrustCapital is not affiliated with and does not endorse any particular digital asset, precious metal or investment strategy.
