Types of Saunas: Which One Fits Your Home, Your Body, and the Heat You Actually Want
Thinking about adding a sauna to your home but not sure which type to pick? Whether you want the authentic Finnish heat with löyly or the gentler warmth of an infrared sauna, this guide walks you through every type of sauna so you can choose the right one with confidence.
By the end you'll know which of the six main types fits your space, what each one costs to install and run, and why electric saunas, infrared saunas, traditional Finnish saunas, and steam rooms feel completely different once you're inside.
I'm Brian Mitchell, Sauna Expert and Team Lead at The Sauna Place in Cookeville, Tennessee. We've sized and shipped saunas to thousands of homeowners, contractors, and commercial clients across the United States. The breakdown below is the same one I use on customer calls.
Three filters: heat source, humidity, location.
Apply them in that order and the right sauna almost picks itself.
Quick Comparison: The 6 Main Types of Saunas
| Sauna Type | Heat Range | Humidity | Best For | Install Difficulty | Typical Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Sauna / Wood Burning | 150–195°F | Adjustable | Authentic löyly, outdoor builds | High | $3,000–$12,000 |
| Electric Sauna | 150–195°F | Adjustable | Most home installs | Medium | $2,500–$10,000 |
| Infrared Sauna | 120–150°F | Near zero | Heat-sensitive users, recovery | Low | $1,500–$6,000 |
| Steam Sauna | 110–120°F | ~100% | Respiratory, skincare | Very High | $3,000–$15,000+ |
| Hybrid Sauna | 120–195°F | Adjustable | Multi-user households | Medium-High | $4,000–$10,000+ |
| Barrel Sauna | 150–195°F | Adjustable | Backyards, no foundation | Low | $3,500–$12,000 |
The matrix gives you the shape. The rest of this guide is the part most articles skip. The judgment.
Quick Answers
Which sauna is best for most homeowners? Electric. Same heat as traditional saunas, no fire to manage, indoor placement works.
Which sauna gets hottest? Traditional wood burning saunas and electric saunas both run 150–195°F. Same ceiling, different ritual.
Which sauna is easiest to install? Infrared sauna. Most plug into a standard 120V outlet. No ventilation engineering, no chimney, no dedicated 240V circuit.
Which sauna feels most authentic? The traditional Finnish sauna with wood burning stove. Nothing else replicates the löyly when water hits hot stones.
Which sauna is best for joint pain and recovery? Infrared sauna at lower temperatures works well for that. Customers who can't tolerate high heat get real health benefits here.
How Saunas Actually Break Down
I classify the types of saunas three ways when I'm working with a customer. By heat source: wood burning, electric sauna heater, infrared panels, or steam generator. By humidity: dry sauna, wet sauna, full steam room. By location: indoor saunas, outdoor sauna builds, barrel units, portable setups.
Every combination produces a different sauna experience. Most customers land on their answer within five minutes once they understand the categories.
Traditional Finnish Sauna (Wood Burning)
The traditional Finnish sauna is the original. Wood burning stove, sauna stones, water on hot rocks, löyly. The steam, the sound, the way it fills the sauna room. Nothing else replicates it.
Temperature in traditional saunas runs 150°F to 195°F. Humidity sits wherever you want it depending on how much water hits those heated rocks. The heat is intense. The sauna session is active. You're managing the fire, reading the stones, deciding when to add water. That's what sauna enthusiasts mean when they talk about an authentic sauna experience.
Choose a wood burning sauna if: you want intense heat, you love the ritual, you want real löyly, you have outdoor space for chimney routing.
Installation reality: Proper ventilation, chimney clearances, fire safety. Most customers put wood burning saunas outside. Cost runs $3,000 to $12,000 installed.
If you want the traditional Finnish sauna experience and have the outdoor space, this is the one. Every time.
Electric Sauna
An electric sauna heater does the same job as a wood burning stove without the fire management. The unit heats sauna stones. You still get löyly. You get precise temperature control through a digital controller.
Same temperature range as traditional saunas. 150°F to 195°F. Same steam quality when stone capacity is sized right. Set your temperature, walk away, come back when it's ready. That convenience is why most residential customers land here, and nearly every commercial client too.
Choose an electric sauna if: you want indoor placement, you want the full Finnish experience without managing a fire, you have access to a 240V circuit.
Installation: Dedicated 240V circuit, 30-50 amps depending on kW. Hire a licensed electrician. Not optional. Cost runs $2,500 to $10,000 installed.
For most home builds, electric saunas are the best balance of authentic heat, easy installation, and long-term usability. That's my recommendation and it doesn't change based on price. Once you're inside with good stones and proper sizing, the sauna session feels identical to traditional.
Infrared Sauna
No sauna stones. No steam. Carbon or ceramic panels in an infrared sauna emit infrared wavelengths that warm your body directly rather than heating the air around you. That's the fundamental difference between an infrared sauna and a traditional one, and it matters more than most customers realize before they've tried both.
Temperature stays lower. 120°F to 150°F. Humidity near zero. Your core body temperature still rises and you still sweat, but the intensity isn't there the way it is in a traditional or electric sauna. Far infrared penetrates deeper into tissue. Near infrared targets the surface. Most home infrared saunas use far infrared or a combination.
Choose an infrared sauna if: you dislike extreme heat, you want shorter sauna sessions, you live in an apartment, you prioritize gentle recovery and joint pain relief.
Installation: Most infrared saunas plug into a standard 120V outlet. Minimal ventilation needed. Some customers set these up in a spare bedroom. Cost runs $1,500 to $6,000.
Honest take. Infrared therapy works. Real health benefits, not marketing. But customers who want löyly, intense heat, that full heat bathing ritual: an infrared sauna won't satisfy that. Customers who want gentle radiant heat and therapeutic warmth love them. Two different things.
Steam Sauna (Steam Room)
A steam generator produces continuous steam inside a fully sealed, tiled enclosure. Temperature in steam saunas stays relatively low at 110°F to 120°F, but humidity pushes near 100%. That humid heat feels heavier than the thermometer suggests. Much heavier.
The moist environment in steam rooms opens airways differently than dry heat. Some customers add essential oils to the steam generators for aromatherapy. Steam saunas and steam rooms are the same concept, just different names depending on who's selling them.
Choose a steam sauna if: you want respiratory health benefits, skincare is your primary goal, you find dry sauna uncomfortable.
Installation: Waterproof enclosure, drainage, sealed ceiling, properly sized steam generator. Steam rooms are the most complex home installs we deal with. Cost runs $3,000 to $15,000+.
Not every customer needs this. The ones who do know it immediately.
Hybrid Sauna
A hybrid sauna puts an electric sauna heater and infrared panels in a single room. Run high heat with steam, infrared only, or both at once. Temperature range covers the full spectrum depending on which mode you choose, and humidity adjusts based on whether you're using the stones.
Choose a hybrid sauna if: one person in the household wants intense heat and another can't handle it, you don't want to compromise, you have the budget for both systems.
Electrical load runs slightly higher with both systems going. Cost runs $4,000 to $10,000+, similar installation footprint to a standard electric build. More customers ask about hybrid saunas every year. The flexibility is real.
Barrel Sauna
The barrel shape isn't just aesthetic. That cylindrical design circulates heat more efficiently than a square sauna room. Hot air rises, curves along the ceiling, rolls back down. Faster heat-up. More even distribution.
Barrel saunas house wood burning stoves, electric heaters, or hybrid setups inside. Most live outdoors. No foundation needed for most installs. Level surface, adequate clearance, you're set. Seats 2-6 depending on size.
Choose a barrel sauna if: you want an outdoor sauna, you don't want a full construction project, you have a backyard with decent clearance.
Cost: $3,500 to $12,000. We ship these from Tennessee and customers have them heating within a day or two of delivery.
Portable and Tent Saunas
For customers who rent, travel, or want to test the waters before committing. Collapsible frame, fabric enclosure, typically paired with a small wood burning stove. Some use electric heating. A sauna blanket falls into this category too, though the experience differs significantly.
Temperature hits 140°F to 180°F in a good tent setup. Not a permanent sauna. Not the same build quality. Functional.
Cost: $200 to $1,500. Entry point for sauna goers who aren't ready for a full investment.
Which Sauna Fits You?
Choose a wood burning sauna if: you want intense heat, you love the ritual, you have outdoor space, the löyly is non-negotiable.
Choose an electric sauna if: you want indoor placement, you want Finnish heat without fire management, you have a licensed electrician.
Choose an infrared sauna if: you want lower temperatures, you live in an apartment, you're focused on recovery and joint relief.
Choose a steam sauna if: respiratory or skincare is your primary health goal, you can build the waterproof enclosure.
Choose a hybrid sauna if: you need flexibility for multiple users, you want both heat profiles in one room.
Choose a barrel sauna if: you want outdoor placement without construction, you want fast heat-up.
The Health Benefits of Regular Sauna Use
The health benefits are why most customers buy in the first place. They're also why customers keep their sauna for ten years. Here's what I hear most often.
Sleep is the one that surprises people. They buy for recovery or relaxation, and three weeks in they're telling us the sleep is the thing. I hear it more than any other benefit. Across every type of sauna.
Muscle recovery is the second pattern. Customers who train hard, customers who work physical jobs, customers in their fifties and sixties dealing with stiffness. A regular sauna session changes how their body feels the next day.
Cardiovascular health benefits accumulate over time. Customers don't always notice them week to week, but the data is real and the long-term sauna users feel the difference.
Stress reduction, mental clarity, detoxification through sweating. Joint pain relief, especially in infrared saunas at lower temperatures. These are the health benefits customers describe in their own words, not from a study, not from a brochure.
By Space
Backyard means barrel sauna or traditional outdoor sauna. Spare room means electric sauna or infrared sauna. Apartment means infrared or portable. No permanent space means tent or sauna blanket.
By Budget
Under $2,000 gets you portable or entry infrared. $2,000 to $6,000 covers mid-range infrared saunas or a basic electric build. That's the range where most of our customers land. $6,000 to $12,000 is where barrel saunas, quality electric builds, and traditional wood burning saunas sit. Above $12,000 means custom builds or full steam rooms.
Your best sauna depends on what you actually want to feel when you sit down and close the door. That's always the starting point. Not sure what fits your budget? Our detailed guide on sauna costs explains typical purchase prices, installation requirements, and long-term operating costs for every major sauna type.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of sauna is best for home use?
Electric. I've had this conversation thousands of times. An electric sauna gives you the full traditional sauna experience with precise temperature control, no fire management, and indoor placement works. Most of our home sauna customers end up with an electric setup and never look back.
Is infrared better than traditional?
Not better. Different. If you can handle the heat, go traditional. Infrared saunas run cooler, use infrared wavelengths for direct body heating, and genuinely work well for customers who can't tolerate intense heat or who are primarily after joint and muscle therapy at lower temperatures. But the full experience, hot stones, löyly, that wall of heat when you open the door, that's traditional. An infrared sauna doesn't replicate it and shouldn't claim to.
What type of sauna do Finns use?
Wood burning, historically. The traditional Finnish sauna with a wood burning stove, sauna stones, and löyly. The smoke sauna, savu sauna, is the historical ancestor. Modern Finnish apartments typically run electric heaters, but the principle never changes. Hot stones, steam, high heat. Everything else is a variation on that.
How much does it cost to run a sauna?
Roughly $1-3 per electric sauna session depending on your local rates and heater size. Infrared costs less to operate because the wattage is lower. Wood burning saunas cost whatever your firewood costs, which varies more than people expect. We help customers calculate their actual running cost based on specific heater kW and local electricity pricing before they buy. That number matters.
Can you use HSA or FSA funds for a sauna?
In some cases, sauna purchases may be eligible for HSA or FSA reimbursement. Eligibility depends on your specific plan, a qualifying diagnosed medical condition, and whether your healthcare provider determines that a sauna is medically necessary and provides appropriate documentation, such as a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN). Coverage varies by plan, so we recommend checking with both your healthcare provider and plan administrator before purchasing.
Important Disclaimer:
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. No doctor-patient relationship is formed by reading this content.
Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition or before beginning any wellness or heat-exposure routine. Never disregard or delay professional medical advice because of information found on this website.
Need help narrowing down which type of sauna fits your space and goals? Call our team at The Sauna Place at 931-516-6577 or visit saunaplace.com. We size every heater to the room, talk directly with your electrician if needed, and ship from Cookeville, Tennessee. That's how we've done it for every customer. No exceptions.