Home saunas: what they cost, how they are installed, which type to buy
A home sauna is either traditional — a timber cabin heated to 70–100°C by a stove and stones, where you throw water on the stones for steam — or infrared, a cabin of radiant panels that warms your body directly at 45–60°C. Traditional is the real sauna experience and generally needs a dedicated electrical circuit; infrared is gentler, cheaper to run, and usually plugs into a normal socket.
What it costs
Indicative UK pricing: an infrared cabin £1,500–£5,000, an indoor traditional kit £2,500–£7,000, an outdoor barrel £4,000–£9,000, an insulated garden cabin £7,000–£20,000, and bespoke builds from £20,000. Base preparation, the electrical supply, delivery and craning are usually extra and are where quotes diverge most.
Running cost is smaller than people expect but not nothing: a 6 kW traditional sauna uses roughly 4 kWh for a warm-up plus a session, a little over £1 at a typical unit rate. Infrared is considerably less. The sauna cost calculator puts a range on both, and what a home sauna costs breaks down a quote line by line.
Which type to buy
The honest test is what you picture when you say "sauna". If it is heat you can feel in your chest and steam off the stones, only a traditional sauna does that — infrared cannot reproduce löyly. If it is a warm, quiet place to sit for twenty minutes without a building project, infrared does that better and for less.
The practical constraint is usually electrical. Infrared cabins and heaters up to about 3 kW run from a 13A socket; a 4.5–9 kW traditional heater needs a dedicated wired circuit. Work through it with the infrared vs traditional selector, or read the full comparison.
Indoor or garden
Indoor is cheaper and warmer to walk to in February — the single biggest predictor of whether a sauna actually gets used. Garden gives you more space, a better experience and no humidity to manage inside the house, at the cost of a base, a weatherproof insulated shell and an outdoor electrical run.
For a garden cabin, the questions that decide the job are height and boundary distance (both hard limits under permitted development), the cable run, and whether the cabin can physically reach the spot. See garden saunas, where to put one, and the planning and electrics checker.
The rules that apply
Most garden saunas fall under permitted development as an outbuilding — single storey, eaves under 2.5 m, under 4 m overall, not forward of the principal elevation, and under 2.5 m in total if within 2 m of a boundary. Flats, listed buildings and many conservation areas are exceptions. Any new electrical circuit is notifiable under Part P and should come with a certificate, which a buyer's solicitor will ask for. Details in planning permission for a garden sauna and electrical requirements.
Every question, answered
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Infrared sauna: how it works, what it costs, and whether it's right for you
An infrared sauna warms the body directly with radiant heat instead of heating the air, so it runs at 45–60°C. How it works, what it costs to run, and who it suits.
Are home saunas worth it? An honest cost-benefit for UK buyers
A home sauna is worth it if you'll use it two or more times a week for years. Below that it is expensive per session. Here's the arithmetic, without the sales pitch.
Home sauna sizes: what internal dimensions do you actually need?
A comfortable two-person sauna needs about 1.2 × 1.5 m internally; four people need 1.8 × 2.0 m. Real dimensions, bench depths and the occupancy claims to ignore.
Comparisons
Infrared vs traditional sauna: which is right for a UK home?
Infrared warms your body directly at 45–60°C and usually plugs into a 13A socket. A traditional sauna heats air and stones to 70–100°C and needs a wired circuit.
Sauna vs steam room: what's the difference, and which works in a UK home?
A sauna is dry heat at 70–100°C in a timber cabin. A steam room is 100% humidity at 40–48°C in a sealed, tanked, tiled enclosure — a far bigger building job at home.
Barrel vs cabin sauna: which suits a UK garden better?
A barrel sauna heats faster and costs less; a cube cabin gives more usable space, better insulation and longer life in a British winter. The full comparison.
Costs
How much does a home sauna cost in the UK?
A home sauna costs £1,500–£5,000 for infrared, £4,000–£9,000 for an outdoor barrel and £7,000–£20,000 for an insulated cabin — before base, electrics and delivery.
How much does a home sauna cost to run in the UK?
A home sauna session costs roughly 60p to £3 in electricity, depending on heater size and insulation. The arithmetic, plus monthly costs at 2–4 sessions a week.
Installation
Garden sauna: the complete UK guide to buying and installing an outdoor sauna
A garden sauna is a self-contained timber cabin on its own base with a dedicated electrical supply. Shapes, timbers, heaters, groundworks, siting and real UK costs.
Sauna installation: what's involved and how to choose an installer
Sauna installation runs from a one-day barrel assembly to a two-week bespoke build: base, delivery, vapour barrier, heater, Part P electrics and ventilation.
Where to put a garden sauna: siting, distances and access
Put a garden sauna close enough to use in February, on firm free-draining ground, with the door out of the prevailing wind — and check access before you buy.
Bespoke sauna: when a custom build beats a kit
A bespoke sauna is worth it when the space is awkward, the design is glass-led, or the sauna must match an existing building. Expect 8–20 weeks and £15,000 upwards.
Planning & electrics
Does a garden sauna need planning permission in the UK?
Most garden saunas in England are permitted development as an outbuilding — but only within height, siting and coverage limits. The conditions, and the exceptions.
Home sauna electrical requirements: what supply does a sauna heater need?
Sauna heaters up to about 3 kW run on a 13A socket. From 4.5 kW up you need a dedicated RCD-protected circuit, installed and certified by a registered electrician.
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Common questions
How much does a home sauna cost in the UK?
An infrared cabin is typically £1,500–£5,000, an indoor traditional kit £2,500–£7,000, an outdoor barrel sauna £4,000–£9,000 and an insulated garden cabin £7,000–£20,000. Bespoke builds start around £20,000. Base preparation, the electrical supply and delivery are usually quoted separately.
Is infrared or traditional better for a home sauna?
They are different experiences. Traditional reaches 70–100°C and lets you throw water on the stones; infrared runs at 45–60°C, warms up in 10–15 minutes and usually plugs into a 13A socket. Choose traditional if the sauna experience is the point, infrared if you want gentle heat with almost no installation.
Does a garden sauna need planning permission?
Usually not. A garden sauna normally counts as an outbuilding under permitted development if it is single storey, no more than 2.5 m to the eaves, under 4 m overall, not forward of the principal elevation, and covers no more than half the land around the original house. Within 2 m of a boundary the whole structure must be under 2.5 m.
How much does a sauna cost to run?
A 6 kW traditional sauna drawing full power through a 30-minute warm-up and cycling at roughly a third of that during a 30-minute session uses about 4 kWh — a little over £1 per session at a typical UK unit rate. Infrared cabins use considerably less because they run at a much lower temperature.