Prices, installed costs and local builders

What will your sauna really cost?

The sticker price is only part of the bill. We add the freight, the pad, the 240-volt circuit, the permits and the labor where you live, with a source for every line.

Which sauna?
Where do you live?
Where will it go?

Price my sauna 3 questions. No sign-up.

Or compare 9157 seller prices · find a builder

Print-style illustration of a small wooden cabin sauna with a shed roof among tall spruce trees, a curl of steam rising from its chimney toward a large setting sun.

Worked example

The median outdoor sauna in our index, carried all the way to the first sweat.

Sticker price$8,140

All-in, national rates

$9,662–$18,642

High end, line by lineSee every line

Start with the question you have.

One tool for each. Every number traces back to a seller’s page, a published price guide, federal wage data or a city permit office.

01Cost calculator

What will it cost me?

The sauna plus freight, the pad, wiring, permits and assembly, with labor priced for 25 metros.

Price my sauna

02Price index

Where is it cheapest?

2314 saunas and heaters, 9157 seller prices side by side from 252 sellers.

Compare prices

03Builder finder

Who can build it?

326 builders and installers in 30 metro areas. Get a quote free.

Find a builder

We may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you, and a fee when you request quotes through our builder partners. Disclosure

No. 1What saunas really cost

A $8,140 sauna is a $9,662 to $18,642 project.

That’s the median outdoor sauna in our index, the Model E8GB Ergo-Series 6-Person Traditional Outdoor Barrel Sauna with Full-Glass Front, carried all the way to the first sweat at national rates. Everything around it adds 19% at the low end and 129% at the high end.

2.3×

the sticker price, at the top of the range. Freight and assembly are the two biggest swings.

Anatomy of the bill: where the other $1,522 to $10,502 goes.

Each line is a published national range. Pick your metro in the calculator and the labor lines scale with local electrician wages.

Low end

$9,662+$1,522 on top

High end

Sauna $8,140Freight $3,490Assembly $3,000Trench $2,100

$18,642+$10,502 on top

The saunaModel E8GB Ergo-Series 6-Person Traditional Outdoor Barrel Sauna with Full-Glass Front, lowest of 1 sellersOne price$8,140Our price index
Delivery and freight$0–$3,490Retailer shipping pages
Assembly by a pro$300–$3,000HomeAdvisor
Concrete slab, 4 in.$372–$1,012Homewyse
240 V heater circuit$250–$900HomeGuide
Trench and underground wire$600–$2,100HomeAdvisor

All-in, national rates$9,662–$18,642

Range bars share a $0–$3,500 scale. If your panel is full, an upgrade adds $1,300–$3,000 (This Old House); a subpanel is often cheaper. Not included: sales tax, site clearing, unusually long or rocky trench runs, landscaping. Cost data checked Sep 23, 2026. Methodology

Print-style panorama of hills, a lake, pine and birch forests and distant snowy mountains, with small sauna huts sending up steam across the land under a low sun.

No. 2Where you live changes it

Same sauna, another city: up to $4,000 more at the top.

Across the 25 metros we price, the same $8,140 sauna tops out at $17,552 in Asheville and $21,552 in Portland, Oregon. Labor lines follow local electrician wages from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics; permits are each city’s published fees.

Price it for my metro

Portland, OR$10,336–$21,552
Seattle, WA$10,227–$21,212
Chicago, IL$10,182–$21,062
New York City, NY$10,062–$20,332
Boston, MA$9,952–$19,942
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN$9,932–$19,842
Pittsburgh, PA$9,852–$19,162
National rates$9,662–$18,642
Denver, CO$9,637–$18,497
State College, PA$9,527–$17,632
Asheville, NC$9,507–$17,552

10 of 25 metros shown, with the national-rate estimate for comparison.

No. 3Same sauna, different prices

Same sauna. Different price.

The same model is often sold by several dealers at different prices and in different bundles. We list every seller’s price we found, with a link to each one.

$26,675

The widest gap we found between two sellers of the same sauna: the Kohler C2 Outdoor Sauna Kit Weathered Grey Spruce, $31,600 at the lowest seller and $58,275 at another.

2314saunas and heaters
9157seller prices
252sellers
1119models sold by more than one seller

We may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you, and a fee when you request quotes through our builder partners. Disclosure

Golden Designs · Infrared, indoorCatalonia 8-Personfrom $8,99913 sellers · gap $6,000
Almost Heaven / Harvia · Outdoor cabinTimberline Outdoor Cabin Sauna, Mediumfrom $9,9637 sellers · gap $4,270
Almost Heaven · Outdoor cubeBlackwater 4-Person Cube Saunafrom $9,8593 sellers · gap $4,226
Almost Heaven · Outdoor barrelPrinceton 6-Person Barrel Saunafrom $6,2528 sellers · gap $2,680
SaunaLife · Outdoor barrelModel E6 Ergo Barrel Saunafrom $4,3508 sellers · gap $1,090
HUUM · Electric heaterDROP 6 kWfrom $1,50610 sellers · gap $527

Open the full price index

Prices checked Sep 29, 2026, before tax. Check what each seller includes: heater, stones, controller, freight. Hover or tap a dot to see which sellers charge that price.

No. 4What’s in the index

Pick your kind of heat.

Every family of sauna and heater in the index, with the number of models we track and the lowest current price in each.

Print-style illustration of a cedar barrel sauna on a wooden cradle among birch trees, a round window glowing and steam drifting from its chimney.

Barrel saunas

165 models · from $2,299

Round staves on a cradle, which often sits right on a gravel pad.

Print-style illustration of a modern cube sauna with a glass front on a timber deck at the edge of a still lake, pine trees behind.

Cabin & cube saunas

295 models · from $2,599

Square rooms under a flat or shed roof. Pre-built cabins can arrive whole, on a flatbed.

Print-style illustration of a pale-wood indoor infrared sauna cabinet with a glass door, its panels glowing, beside a stool with a folded towel and a potted plant.

Infrared saunas

349 models · from $379

271 indoor cabins and 78 outdoor models, from 1-person to 9-person.

Print-style illustration of a wood-burning sauna stove with a fire behind its door and stones on top, steam billowing, a wooden bucket and ladle on the bench.

Heaters & stoves

373 models · from $328

230 electric, 133 wood-burning, 10 gas. Compared per kW.

Browse all 2314 in the price index

Print-style illustration of an empty sauna interior with two tiers of slatted benches, a heater full of stones with steam rising, and a wooden bucket and ladle.

AI-generated illustration

No. 5Heater size

About 1 kW for every 35 ft³ of room.

That’s HUUM’s rule of thumb; other guides allow more room per kW, and glass, tile and log walls change it. Enter your room and get the kW, the heaters rated for it, and the breaker and wire from each maker’s manual.

Room177–318ft³Rated room size

Heater6kWHUUM Drop 6, from $1,506

Draw25Aat 240 V on its own circuit, 10 AWG wire

Breaker: HUUM lists 30 A. The 125% code rule puts a 25 A draw at 31.25 A, and the next standard breaker is 35 A. When the two differ, your electrician makes the call. HUUM Drop US manual

Size my heater

Print-style illustration of a carpenter's workbench with stacked cedar boards, a mallet, a hand plane, wood shavings and a coil of cable, a half-paneled sauna wall behind.

No. 6Builders near you

326 builders in 30 metro areas.

Businesses that show public evidence of sauna work: a project gallery, a sauna service page or a dealer listing. Includes 80 dedicated sauna builders and 113 sauna dealers and installers. Pick your area to see them in alphabetical order.

Get a free quote.

Tell us about the project, then choose which builders get it: one for an exclusive quote, or several to compare. Free for homeowners; builders in our network pay us per request.

Find builders near me

Builders who have joined our network pay us a fee per request; listed builders haven’t joined and pay nothing. You sign with and pay the builder directly, and we add nothing to your bill. You don’t need to accept any other offer to get your quote.

All 326 businesses are Listed: drawn from public business information and not yet verified by us. Build saunas? Claim or join.

No. 7Guides

Read this before you wire, vent or buy.

Written from the heater makers’ manuals, the electrical code and US Forest Service data, with a link to every source.

Electrical

What electrical does a sauna need?

Most electric heaters want a dedicated 240 V circuit, about 4.17 A per kW. Breaker and wire from the HUUM, Harvia, Finnleo, Amerec and Saunum manuals.

Read the guide

Ventilation

How should a sauna be ventilated?

How many air changes an hour the makers call for, how big the vents are, and where the supply and exhaust go.

Read the guide

Materials

What’s the best wood for a sauna?

Cedar, aspen, spruce, hemlock and basswood, compared with US Forest Service data.

Read the guide

Heaters compared

Harvia vs HUUM vs Saunum

kW sizes, room ranges, amps, breaker and wire, side by side from their manuals.

Read the guide

Paying for it

Can you buy a sauna with HSA money?

28 sellers we track offer HSA/FSA checkout, usually through Truemed. What to check with your plan first.

Read the guide

Where to buy

112 brands, dealers and retailers

Grouped by what they sell. Many dealers carry the same saunas and heaters.

Read the guide

Every number here has a check date and a source.

Prices checked Sep 29, 20269157 seller prices from 252 sellers, each linked to the seller’s page.

Costs checked Sep 23, 2026Published price guides, federal electrician wage data and each city’s permit fees.

Specs checked Sep 23, 2026Heater sizes, amps, breaker and wire from the manuals, as HUUM, Harvia, Finnleo, Amerec and Saunum publish them.

We may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you, and a fee when you request quotes through our builder partners.

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