Looking to relax your mind and muscles while detoxifying your body? Have a difficult time sweating but know the importance of perspiration to the overall health of your body? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you may be ready to begin your search for your first home infrared sauna. If you’ve already owned a sauna at some point in the past and are looking to upgrade what you already have or add one to your new home, you are also in the right place. We’ve collected some of the best infrared saunas on today’s market (as determined by popularity, sales statistics, and consumer reviews) and brought them all right here in one convenient location.

Buying Information

I want to begin by making one thing clear here. The word is infrared, not infared. The terms quickly and easily get mixed up as many of us mispronounce the proper infrared as infared. Trust me; I learned this lesson the hard (and embarrassing) way. I bring this up for the simple reason – it will be much easier for you to find the actual unit you are searching for if you type the correct words into your search bar.

Why Infrared? – Let’s begin with a quick discussion of different types of saunas. Surely you’ve encountered a steam or hot rock sauna at some point in your life. Hot rock saunas (and even some steam saunas) actually require a small fire to be built inside the sauna, making it unsuitable for indoor use. Traditional saunas also heat your body from the outside inward. The heat, therefore, can harm your skin before it even manages to penetrate deep enough to release toxins and relax muscles. While this traditional heating option can be a wonderful way to cleanse pores, it isn’t very efficient or effective when it comes to what people are actually searching for in a sauna experience. If you would like to use steam to clean your pores, I suggest using a steam shower to achieve this goal and maintaining a proper, infrared sauna for your relaxation and detoxification needs.

Traditional saunas heat the air which, in turn, heats your skin which, in turn, heats the rest of your body over time. The problem is that it takes a while to actually heat your body, and many people grow claustrophobic or have difficulty breathing in the humid atmosphere of a traditional sauna. Infrared saunas, on the other hand, use radiant heating to heat everything at an equal rate, all the way through.

The best way I can explain the way an infrared sauna works is to tell you a quick story about when I was first introduced to radiant heating. Growing up, our garage was a hangout place for neighbors and friends to drop by over the holiday season. It was just that easy place to gather and drop in where people didn’t feel as though they were intruding on our home. The garage was somewhat insulated but, with its concrete floor and drafty old door, wasn’t the warmest area. We used space heaters (electric and propane operated) for a while, which heated the air (like a traditional sauna) but did little more than help our fingers keep from falling off. Finally, my father purchased a radiant heating system. It made a world of difference. The air was warm, just like it was with the space heaters, but suddenly, so was everything else – the tools, the chairs, the walls and, most of all, each of us.

What Types of Heating Materials Are Best? – There is a bit of debate in the world of infrared saunas as to which types of heating materials are the best. Let me begin by first stating that your options include steel rod systems, ceramic systems, and carbon systems. The general consensus is that carbon systems are the best option. Apparently, steel rod systems create many cool patches inside the sauna, which may make the experience uncomfortable rather than relaxing.

Ceramic rods and tubes only provide heat to those people and things placed directly in front of them and must be heated to extreme temperatures before they will actually emit any heat. The extreme temperatures on the surface of ceramic heaters make them very unsafe to touch, even accidentally. Apparently, ceramic systems also create electromagnetic fields (EMF) which can make some people ill.

Carbon systems appear to create the least cool spaces, heat the most evenly, and do not create EMF fields. These facts make them a favorite among many sauna enthusiasts.

What Type of Wood is Best? – Since much of a sauna is made up of wood, a common question many people ask is, “What type of wood is best?” Again, this is a topic of hot debate. Overall, the general consensus appears to be that there are certain woods you should steer away from and certain woods you should steer toward. Since the following types of wood are considered too soft, too stiff or too “shrinky”, most enthusiasts and experts suggest avoiding them: fir, poplar, spruce, California redwood, Aspen, western pine. Among the most popular wood types used for infrared saunas are Pacific coast hemlock and Canadian red cedar.

Best with Certified Green Wood
JNH Lifestyles Far Infrared Sauna

Measuring approximately 47 inches wide and 39.5 inches deep, this beautiful two-person indoor sauna boasts many great features. It may take a little while to go through each one, but I will do my best to keep things short while still doing justice to this wonderful unit.

Let’s begin with the wood from which it is made. For those concerned about the impact of their belongings on the environment or on their own personal health, you will be happy to hear that this sauna has been built with certified green wood. If you aren’t sure what that means, it simply means that the wood hasn’t been treated with any chemicals. This means that, when the wood is eventually disposed of, it is fully biodegradable.

Another great thing about the wood from which this sauna has been built is that it is all Canadian hemlock. If you read our buying information at the top of this page, you know that Canadian hemlock is one the best types of wood you can use to build a sauna. It will not shrink over time and won’t hold onto moisture (which means it will not allow mold to form inside.)

A total of seven carbon heaters help to heat the sauna from its three main walls, leaving the front wall open for the beautiful, frameless, swinging glass door. Overall, the aesthetic design of this unit is one to be envied by many others. Although the visual appeal of a sauna isn’t what most people purchase it for, it is always nice to know that yours will add a touch of class to your bathroom space instead of looking like a strange foreign structure.

A digital panel inside the sauna allows you to effortlessly control the temperature without ever having to leave. As someone who has used a sauna with only an external panel, I know how annoying it can be to leave the relaxing warmth to travel outside in order to change the temperature. The touch panel also allows you to put the unit on a timer so that you don’t accidentally stay in longer than planned.

Two auxiliary speakers allow you to plug in a cell phone, tablet, or computer so that you can add music to your relaxing experience. You can even use your music device to stream podcasts or listen to the radio.

This brief synopsis only scratches the surface of what makes this unit a wonderful addition to your bathroom. It also includes a comfortable two-person bench and interior lighting, and is easy to assemble. I truly believe that most people will not be disappointed by it.

Best Low EMF Sauna
Dynamic Saunas AMZ-DYN-6210-01 Venice Far Infrared

If you are concerned about the electromagnetic field created by your sauna, you may want to focus your attention on this Dynamic sauna. Though some of the others on this list may also have low EMF fields, this is the only popular cabin I was able to find which had been tested for its EMF level. Most companies do not even think to check EMF fields, because many people are unaware of their effects on the human brain and body. As someone concerned about this, though, you are probably already well aware that high EMF fields can have a negative impact on your overall health. To reap all the rewards of an infrared spa without any of the negative effects associated with a high EMF field, this low EMF spa is a great option.

A low EMF field isn’t all that important if the spa itself isn’t any good, though, right? Not to worry – this spa is on par with all of the others on this list in terms of its quality and its craftsmanship. The overall design of this cabin is exquisite in its craftsmanship. Fine details have been included along the interior and exterior walls. An elegant frameless glass door and a small glass panel have been fitted onto the front of the cabin and a tall peekaboo window has been fitted into the side.

A total of six large carbon panels are affixed to the interior walls, bringing heat to your body from all angles for an evenly-heated experience. The wood used in the construction of this cabin is 100 percent Canadian hemlock, one of the most durable options for high heat atmospheres such as those created in a sauna.

Also impressive are this sauna’s two soft-touch control panels. One has been placed inside the sauna so that you never have to leave to adjust the temperature. The other has been placed on the exterior of the sauna so that you can set the temperature ahead of time and hop in when it’s ready. Auxiliary speakers allow you to listen to music, talk radio, and podcasts from your cell phone, tablet, laptop, or stereo system.

Best Hemlock
Hemlock Deluxe Infrared Sauna with 6 Carbon Heaters

Although we’ve already featured two impressive hemlock saunas, I decided to give this one the title of “Best Hemlock” because it combines the wonderfully durable nature of hemlock wood with the most of the other great features I was able to find among infrared saunas. Allow me to skip over the whole spiel about how wonderful hemlock wood is for an infrared sauna since I feel as though I have already discussed that at length.

Instead, let’s skip ahead to all of the other incredible attributes this sauna boasts. Six extra-large carbon panels line the interior of this sauna. Much larger than the panels in most of the other saunas, these six panels do the work of what seven panels often accomplish in other units.

Soft interior lighting allows you to see everything you are doing without overwhelming your eyes and ruining your relaxing experience. A soft-touch control panel located on the exterior of the cabin allows you to adjust the temperature, lights, and timer.

Though many of the other options include auxiliary speakers which allow you to hook up a music device to your sauna, this one takes things one step further. Instead of simply speakers, this one also includes a CD player with an auxiliary hookup of its own and the ability to directly access FM radio signals. With all I have discussed, you would think I had listed every possible advantage of this sauna, but you would be wrong. In addition to everything discussed, there are many more impressive qualities to this unit, such as its beautiful exterior and interior design.

Best 4 Person
JNH Lifestyles Joyous Far Infrared Sauna

As four-person at-home infrared saunas go, this one takes the cake, so to speak. You may have noticed that the two-person version of this sauna has already graced this page. You may have also noticed that I was quite impressed with that sauna. Allow me to assure you that I am just as impressed with this sauna, as are many consumers. So, let’s get right down to it and take a deeper look at why this is such a popular sauna cabin.

Made of a double layer of Canadian hemlock wood, this beautifully designed cabin features absolutely no cheap plywood. Whereas other companies often hide plywood in the back panels, this one hasn’t cut any corners. Being made fully from hemlock means that this sauna will easily withstand the high temperatures to which you are almost certainly going to subject it. Nine large carbon panels help to keep those temperatures high and to evenly heat any and all of the people using this sauna at a given time.

Soft interior lighting maintains a relaxing glow. You can use the soft touch interior control panel to turn the lights on and off. You can also use the control panel to adjust the heat and the timer. A gorgeous frameless glass door and two large glass panels allow you to see out the front of this cabin. I love this feature, because I have a habit of watching television when I’m in the sauna. If I owned this sauna, I could simply turn on the subtitles and watch from the comfort of my warm and cozy bench seat.

One caution I want to put forth here is that you should be absolutely certain you have the space to accommodate a unit as large as this one. While it is only approximately 47 inches deep (similar to many one to two person saunas) it is not the depth of this unit you should be concerned about, but its length and width. Measuring an incredible 71 inches wide, some people will struggle to find the space to accommodate it. That being said, if you are lucky enough to be able to squeeze it into your bathroom (or other) space, you won’t be disappointed with it.

Best Corner Unit
JNH Lifestyles 2-3 Person Corner Sauna

Let’s be honest, an infrared sauna is a luxury that not everyone can afford. What’s more, not everyone has the space to house an interior infrared sauna, either. For those people with small and average-sized bathroom spaces or who would simply like to add a sauna into the corner of the basement lounge space, I present the JNH 2-3 Person Corner Sauna.

Instead of trying to map out a space to house a huge sauna with a large swinging glass door, you can easily slide this sauna into any open corner space. One may argue that you can put many small square saunas in a corner, as well, and those people would, technically, be correct. What makes this unit different, however, is it is not square. Instead, it features five walls.

Three 90 degree corners make it somewhat squared (squared enough to fit into a corner). In place of the fourth corner, however, is an angled fifth wall which houses the door. This design means that this unit will not only slide into a corner, but that it will also allow you to use both open sides as walls. You can build a countertop on either side while still allowing room to build a shower stall, install a bathtub or insert a toilet.

A corner bench allows you and your guests to sit comfortably in this sauna space without too much crowding. Since the space is somewhat compact, five oversized carbon panels are able to sufficiently heat the entire space. Like many of the others on this list, this sauna features soft interior lighting which can be controlled by its interior soft touch control panel. The temperature and timer can also be adjusted using this timer. Two auxiliary speakers allow you to bring music into the space as well.

Best Canadian Red Cedar
JNH Lifestyles Freedom

If you are looking for something with a warmer tone to its interior and exterior, this red cedar is definitely the way to go. Just as sturdy and durable as the popular hemlock option, red cedar is yet another popular wood used in the creation of infrared saunas. In my opinion, as well as the opinion of many sauna specialists, there really isn’t much of a difference between hemlock and red cedar besides their aesthetic appeal. This is where you can be a little picky in trying to match your sauna to the interior décor of your room.

There really isn’t much to say about this sauna which will differ greatly from what I have already said about the other JNH saunas on this list. It is top quality, as is to be expected of any JNH sauna. It boasts most of the same features as the others as well. What differs, mostly, is the appearance and type of wood used in its creation. In case you haven’t had a chance to read the other reviews, though, and skipped ahead to this sauna because you liked the way it looked, I will quickly go through its major selling points.

Measuring approximately 47 inches wide by 39.5 inches deep, this sauna will fit easily into any large bathroom space. It features a beautiful, frameless glass door and two tall glass panels on either side of that door for added elegance. Seven large carbon fiber heaters are spaced out along the three main walls and below the bench to offer even heating of the entire interior space. Two auxiliary speakers and a large soft touch panel allow you to bring ease and luxury one step further.