By The Sauna Company design team · Updated November 2026
The best home sauna for most UK homes is a traditional Finnish sauna if you want real heat and steam, or an infrared sauna if you only have a 13A socket and no drainage. A hybrid gives you both, while a bio sauna or steam room suits gentler, more humid heat.
Key takeaways
- Traditional Finnish saunas run at about 75–95°C and give real steam from the stones; they need a dedicated heater circuit.
- Infrared saunas run at about 40–60°C, heat up in around 15–20 minutes and usually need no drainage or supply upgrade.
- A hybrid combines ceiling infrared panels with a traditional stone heater in one room.
- Steam rooms need full waterproofing, drainage and a steam generator outside the room.
- Our installed prices start at £9,995 for infrared and £9,995 for a traditional Finnish sauna, excluding VAT and builders' work.
What are the main home sauna types?
Type
Typical heat
Feel
Installation
Installed price (ex VAT)
Traditional Finnish (Aqua Spazio Sana)
75–95°C, 5–15% humidity
Intense, dry, bursts of steam
Dedicated heater circuit
From £9,995
Premium Finnish (Aqua Spazio Premio)
75–95°C
As above, design-led with glass and app control
Dedicated heater circuit
From £14,995
Infrared (Aqua Spazio Radiata)
40–60°C
Gentle, direct warmth
Usually no supply upgrade or drainage
From £9,995
Hybrid (Aqua Spazio Hybrid)
Infrared plus traditional heat
Both, from one control panel
Dedicated heater circuit
From £14,995
Bio sauna (Aqua Spazio Combi Bio)
50–60°C, 50–60% humidity
Soft, humid, easier for beginners
Combi heater, dedicated circuit
From £14,995
Steam room (Aqua Spazio Vapore)
About 43–46°C, near 100% humidity
Saturated, wet heat
Waterproofing, drainage, steam generator
From £14,995
Garden barrel or cube (Aqua Spazio Cubo)
Traditional heat
Classic outdoor sauna
Level pavers, power to the garden
From £12,995
All prices are fully installed and exclude VAT and builders' and preparatory work, flooring, drainage and electrical connections.
What is a traditional Finnish sauna like?
A traditional sauna heats a mass of stones and the air in a timber room. Ladle water on the stones and you get a wave of heat and steam. It is the classic experience and the one most long-term sauna research is based on. It takes around 30–45 minutes to heat, and the heater needs its own circuit sized to the manufacturer's specification.
Choose it if you want proper high heat and steam, and your supply can take a heater. Our standard Finnish sauna (Aqua Spazio Sana) uses a HARVIA Wall heater with built-in controls; our premium version (Aqua Spazio Premio) adds frameless glass, dimmable LED and app control.
What is an infrared sauna like?
Infrared panels warm your body directly rather than heating the air, so the room feels comfortable at 40–60°C and is ready in around 15–20 minutes. There are no stones, so there is no steam from ladling water.
Choose infrared if you only have a standard 13A socket and no drainage, or you prefer gentler heat. It is often the simplest option for flats, spare rooms and lofts. See our infrared sauna range.
What is a hybrid sauna?
A hybrid puts infrared panels on the ceiling alongside a traditional stone heater, run from one control panel. You feel warmth sooner, and you still get real steam from the stones. Because the panels are overhead, the room looks fully traditional. See our hybrid sauna page.
What is a bio sauna?
A bio sauna uses a combi heater with a built-in vaporiser to run at around 50–60°C with 50–60% humidity. Many beginners and people who find dry 90°C heat harsh prefer it, and the same heater can still run as a traditional sauna.
How is a steam room different?
A steam room is a sealed, tiled wet room filled with steam from a generator mounted outside it. It runs cooler than a sauna but at near 100% humidity. It needs insulated tile backing boards, a vapour barrier, a shaped ceiling so condensation runs off, drainage and an exhaust to dry the room after use. Many of our clients pair a steam room with a sauna. See our bespoke steam room page.
What are the options for a garden sauna?
Outdoors, you can choose a quick-install barrel or cube on level pavers, or a sauna built like an insulated garden room with somewhere to change. A garden-room build costs more but is the one most people keep using through a British winter. See our garden barrel and cube saunas.
What about portable saunas?
Portable infrared tents and plug-in cabins are cheap and need no installation, but they are small, less durable and very different from a built sauna. We do not supply them. If you want something permanent, a compact built-in infrared sauna is the nearest step up.
How do you choose?
- Heat: do you want high heat and steam (traditional), gentle warmth (infrared), both (hybrid), soft humid heat (bio) or wet heat (steam)?
- Space: we build on site to fit, including under stairs, in spare WCs, lofts, basements and gardens.
- Power and plumbing: a traditional heater needs a dedicated circuit; a steam room needs drainage. Infrared usually needs neither.
- Budget: see the price table above, and our guide to how much a sauna costs in the UK.
- Upkeep: every type needs good ventilation; steam rooms need the most cleaning and drying.
Whichever type you choose, design the ventilation first. Each bather breathes out CO2, and a poorly ventilated sauna feels stuffy and can make people dizzy, however good the timber looks.
What about health claims?
You will see many claims online about detox, pain relief and immunity. Most good research is on traditional Finnish saunas and shows associations rather than proof. Enjoy a sauna for relaxation, and speak to your GP before using one if you have a heart condition, are pregnant, or take medication.
Best Home Sauna UK: Which Type Is Right for Your Home?
Explore the best home sauna UK options, compare our bespoke home saunas, and see our sauna design options.
FAQs
What is the best type of home sauna?
It depends on the heat you enjoy and what your home can support. Traditional saunas give high heat and steam; infrared is gentler and easier to install; a hybrid gives both.
Which home sauna is easiest to install?
An infrared sauna usually needs no drainage and no electrical supply upgrade, which makes it the simplest built-in option.
Is a steam room the same as a sauna?
No. A sauna is a dry, hot timber room; a steam room is a cooler, fully tiled room at near 100% humidity, with very different construction.
How much does a home sauna cost?
Our fully installed saunas start at £9,995 for infrared and £9,995 for a traditional Finnish sauna, excluding VAT and builders' work.
Which home sauna is quickest to heat up?
An infrared sauna, at around 15–20 minutes. Infrared saunas run at about 40–60°C and usually need no drainage or supply upgrade.
Talk to a sauna designer
Not sure which type suits your home? Book a free design consultation, or send photographs and dimensions of your space for an initial assessment. Email info@saunacompany.co.uk or see our custom sauna prices.
Planning one for your own home? See our bespoke home saunas page for options and recent projects, or book a free design consultation and we'll talk through your space.