Both instruments derive their price from the same underlying gold market, but the mechanics of holding them differ enough that the choice affects strategy, not just cost.
1. Expiry and rollover
Futures contracts expire on a set schedule and require the trader to either close the position or roll it into the next contract month before expiry. Spot gold has no expiry, a position can be held indefinitely without any rollover decision, which is one reason many retail day and swing traders prefer it.
2. Contract size and standardization
A standard COMEX gold futures contract represents 100 troy ounces with a fixed tick value, which suits traders comfortable working in whole-contract increments. Spot and CFD-style products typically allow fractional position sizing, letting a trader scale a position to an exact dollar-risk amount more precisely.
3. Contango, backwardation, and cost of carry
Futures prices incorporate a cost-of-carry adjustment, storage, insurance, financing, relative to spot. When futures trade above spot it's called contango; below spot is backwardation. This creates a pricing gap between the two instruments that spot traders never have to think about, but that matters for anyone rolling futures positions across contract months.