Sauna Buyer’s Guide for Every Budget After Testing 40+ Brands

Most people shopping for a sauna don’t know what they should expect at different price levels. After testing more than 40 sauna brands in the last seven years, I’ve seen deals that look good on paper but fall apart in real use. I’ve also found affordable setups that heat well, perform well, and punch way above their class. That’s why I break this down into clear categories: under $2,000, under $5,000, and the $6,000 to $10,000 range.

Black Friday is the lowest pricing of the entire year, but this video isn’t only about catching a sale. It’s about helping you understand what you can realistically get for your budget and how to avoid wasting money on saunas that don’t heat up, don’t sweat you well, or come from companies that don’t take care of people. The Certified Saunas community keeps everything honest, and you can see real customer experiences in the Facebook group.

Whether you’re considering portable setups, a mid-range one-person cabin, or a full-size family sauna with red light therapy or yoga space, this guide will point you in the right direction. Check the links below and in the group for verified deals and discount codes.

Read the transcript >

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Transcript

If someone were in that category of spending six to $10,000, they better get their six to $10,000 worth of sauna out of that purchase. The best sauna isn’t always the most expensive one, but buying the wrong deal can still waste your money. Hi, I’m Matt. I’ve tested over 40 sauna brands in the last seven years. I bought saunas in the past that were supposed to be a great value, but didn’t heat well. And I didn’t sweat well in my lower half. That’s why I’m breaking this down by price. And by the way, Black Friday is the lowest pricing of the year. So if you’re buying a sauna soon, or you’ve been thinking about it, this should help you choose the right one for your budget and help you get the best deal right now.

This is a video that we’ve been, I mean, we’ve gotten a ton of requests for this because everybody has a certain price range that they’re trying to stick with. I want to break this down for the viewers and they like it when I give them, we’ll give you categories because you go all over the place. So we’re going to do best sauna under 2000, 5000, and then 7,000. Okay. Let’s start with 2000 and we’ll work our way up. There’s a couple pretty solid options on the market right now that have come out within this year that I think are actually like great. I mean, they’re great sauna options. They’re not even like, in my mind, they’re not even really full budget options. They’re like legit saunas sometimes. So what are you buying? If you’ve got a two grand budget, think of some different options for different situations. So maybe like something that’s a little bit more portable and then maybe something that’s a little bit more permanent.

Okay. Uh, three come to mind. The first thing that stands out is best saunas under 2000 number one on the list is going to be the life pro, uh, the life pro rejuve care. One person, I believe is how you say it. Um, it’s actually closer to $1,500 with the sale, uh, with the group by discount code and the Facebook group. But second on that list would be a one love sauna dome because if you need something that you can stack into a closet or you’re going to be moving around or something, I wouldn’t call it like a portable, portable sauna, but for somebody that wants to lay down, doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, they still work really well. And then third on that list would be portable sauna tent that’s higher end, like a relaxed sauna tent. Um, all of these, I think you can get a discount using our discount codes. Uh, they’re different for every single thing. So you have to check the links in the description or in the Facebook group for that. But the relaxed on a tent, it is a premium price. It’s very expensive for a sauna tent, but it folds up almost like a window, a sunshade shield or something. And so you can really stick it into a carrying case or a trunk of a car and take it with you. So those would be my top three for best under 2000.

The sauna dome that you have in your videos is the XL sauna dome. And I want to clarify this cause it’s a, they’re, they look super, super similar and they’re both really, really nice. But the XL sauna dome is a little bit more expensive with the black Friday pricing. Does that still fit under 2000 or are they going to have to go above that? No, it still fits under 2000 but that is the, I mean, I’m just a wider person. So when I get in a sauna dome, I don’t want to feel like I’m in a sauna blanket. You know, I don’t like those because once you zip me up in there, I’m kind of feel like this and I can’t like pull my arm out to grab something or to do anything. So in a, in a smaller sauna dome, I kind of feel the same. Like I have to like, I feel like you’re sliding the hot dog in the bun so to speak. And then I can’t, I can’t like do anything. So with the XL it’s wide enough to where I can relax, lay on the floor and I can get my arm out and my shoulders have room to squeeze through there. So I think it’s worth the extra money. It’s still way under $2,000 especially with the sale and the discount code.

Next category is under $5,000 and this is where options in my mind start to really open up to where you’re going to get some, there’s, there’s some high quality saunas in this category. So what are you choosing? If you’ve got $5,000, that’s your budget. No more, no less. What are you trying to get? Hmm. First thing that comes to mind would probably be Radiant Health E1H one person. Depending on where you live or shipping, it might tap the $5,000 budget, a couple hundred bucks. It also depends if you pick one up when they’re on Black Friday sale because it’s cheaper. Second on that list would be Radiant Health, I’m sorry, Heavenly Heat Eco. It’s a one person, but it’s a small sauna built like a tank, super fast heat up time, little expensive for the size of it, but performance is relatively unmatched. It’s pretty difficult to compete with that thing. They’re like Premier IS2 probably also on sale within budget for Black Friday. Ask Jen about that. She’s got all the details, but those would be great options for somebody who’s looking for just rock solid products that this can’t be beat really. I mean, those are the best top three for one person in that price range. Heavenly Heat is a great brand. Clear Light is a great brand. Radiant Health is a great brand and all of those models that you listed are great options. So I think personally in that situation, I’d probably choose the Eco, but that’s just because I want a small sauna because I don’t want to take it up a lot of space and I want that high heat. What I will say is if anybody chooses anything in this category, I feel like that’s a win because every one of those saunas you listed is in my opinion, an amazing sauna. Yeah, they’re super solid. You can’t go wrong with any of the three of them. It’s going to come down to your preferences too. Like for you, your number one thing is space. You don’t want it to take up a bunch of, you know, room. You’re not putting together, you know, a basement gym or something. Um, it depends on how, you know, how big you are too. For some people, the size of the thing is the most important thing. Whereas you’re trying to squeeze something in, they want it as big as they can get it for the money. So, you know, it’s just going to all great options. You might even be able to snag a two person from one of the companies almost within budget during black Friday sale for that too. If you can, if they’re still in stock, if their budget was for a one person, I think during black Friday, they’re going to be really close to that budget, um, for getting a nicer one. And I don’t think that’s pretty cool because if you thought you could afford a one, I’d go check prices. Cause you might be able to afford it too. Yeah.

So we’ve got under five grand. What about for like the six, seven and eight K range? Cause that’s really, if someone spent it over five, they know that they’re going to be within that range somewhere. I mean, people could buy a $10,000 sauna if they want to. But in my mind, I think that the majority of the high end people are going to be within six to eight. Yeah. That’s six, seven, 8,000. I mean, we could just call it five to 10 range, whatever you wanted to call it over 5,000. There’s a lot of great offerings here. A lot of what you’re going to see is really large saunas, four to five person family style stuff. That’s a great fit for fitness center. Garage gyms, uh, basement gyms, people like the, these are the ideal fit for somebody who has the budget for it. And they just want a, uh, fulfilling experience or they want, you know, something the entire family can use, or they want something they can work out in or do yoga. And you know, those are going to come at a cost. These folks usually are okay with running electrical upgrades too. These are going to be large saunas with big power supplies. Some of them are going to require two 40. Some of them are going to be 20 or 30 amp, one 20. Uh, some of them have red light therapy that needs to be powered separately. So you’ve got a lot of great options in this price range. You can pretty much get anything you want.

Could you give me like three of your top options that you would choose that right now it’s, you know, it’s a good time to buy them because in my mind, I’m like, if someone’s watching this video for you that are watching this video, I’ll just say this right now is the cheapest time of the year to buy a sauna. Uh, it is not a debate. It is so much cheaper than it normally is. There’s free shipping. There’s all sorts of stuff. And it’s not from one company it’s from a ton of different companies. What is in your mind the best bang for buck in this price range that they could buy during this, this season? Well, it depends on what you want. And you are right about that. We always see black Friday sales every single year, but we never see black Friday months from every single company. So pretty much every single company has a sale this year and it’s all month long. Some is every single week. Some are alternating weeks, but my first choice would probably be the sauna I use myself, which is radiant health 2.5 and that’s kind of a toss up between a two to three person sauna. It’s a 20 amp, 120 volt. It’s got plenty of power on tap, but it has a really great heater layout. So if you look at the FLIR footage, you’ll see exactly what I mean. Doesn’t break super solid rock rock, solid reliability, great company. Um, one of my favorites, you could step up to the E three H was a three person. It’s going to be even wider, a very big sauna, very spacious. Um, depends on what you want. You could also look at something like a heavenly heat red light therapy sauna, which is a large two person sauna, a little bit smaller than these cabins, but it has integrated red light therapy. My go-to would probably be to do sauna and red light therapy separate, but that’s not for everybody. So if you’re a person that wants to combine the two, you can always do red light therapy, get the best PBMT benefits while the sauna is preheating before you’re hot and sweaty. Aside from that, if you’re looking for a yoga specific sauna, there’s going to be product offerings from various companies that probably fit the bill even better for you. Something like a clear light sanctuary, large sauna offerings come in all types of shapes.

And sizes. You can get corner saunas and sometimes we’ll recommend one company because they only make, you know, a rectangular. And then the next person comes along and says, Hey, I really want something that fits in this space. And so we immediately go to another brand because the aforementioned one just doesn’t make that. Uh, so there’s, there’s something for everybody here. Like I said, in this price range, you can get whatever you want. Something I want to mention is there’s been a ton of companies that have reached out to you with discount codes and incentives for you to, you know, show their saunas and you declined the vast majority of them. So, and I thought that was very interesting on your part, but because of that, I appreciate it because it keeps your, you know, your certified stylist integrous. But with that right now, this price range, it seems like everybody’s going to have to look at their own individual needs. And I think that you have so many reviews on the channel that whatever individual sauna they’re looking at, whatever brand they’re looking at, you have a review on the sauna. So for this category, just to send people down the right track, because it’s such a broad category, what are the brands that you, that, that you actually stand by that you’re like, Hey, listen, these people have been solid for me. That’s, that’s the most I could say because the thing is you don’t represent the companies you’d like to recommend, whatever fits, uh, the person’s individual situation. But at the same time, there’s just some brands that suck, uh, just to be flat out honest. So the ones that you do approve this, this price range is big. So what brands would you at least have them look into, uh, that are one on sale right now, but two are trustworthy brands that, if they have an issue or if they’re looking for a good quality product, they can trust this company at least to get them that.

Well, anything that you see on the certified sauna list is going to go through, you know, me personally using it, testing it, having experience with it. It’s not just me using the product. It’s also the experience that the customer is going to have buying from the company. So a lot goes into that. You’re right. There are, I mean, I get up hit up every single week for people that want to do, you know, sponsored posts on the YouTube channel or pay me to do this or to do that. A lot of this stuff. I just, I don’t do that. You know, we’re busy enough as it is with what we do. Uh, the way that we monetize media is how I prefer to do it. Um, I don’t really want to be at someone’s beck and call just because, you know, they pay us to do a video or something. I think that’s kind of dumb. And then I have to watch what I say and all this other dumb. I’m just not that guy. If you look at my early videos, that stuff used to drive me nuts. But I mean, it’s interesting that you bring that up because there is some animosity in the industry because there are a bunch of other companies that would like to have me do stuff for them. Uh, how would you say that is favorable toward them? I just don’t like something about them, how they treat people, something about their product. Uh, so I don’t do it. I don’t care if they offer to pay me or fly me here or do this or do that. If the product’s not good or if it takes two hours to heat up or if it never gets to temperature or if the, we don’t even have to name names. If the company has a call center and they hound the ever living out of people, that’s not a place where I’m going to send a friend or a family member to call, right? I’m going to tell you to use a burner email and a Google voice number because those people will call you 17 times a day until you buy or block them. It’s not a good look for anyone. I don’t do, you know, I don’t treat people like that. I don’t expect to be treated like that. So for us to, I don’t know, for us to take on, you know, something like that just to give you another option when I know it’s going to be bad or it’s just not in alignment with something that I would buy or there’s something wrong with the product and they refuse to fix it or there’s been a past experience where Sona company has done customers wrong and didn’t make it right. There’s even been instances, you know, years ago where I personally felt responsible and had to replace people’s, you know, equipment because the companies themselves wouldn’t do it. So I understand that people get upset when I won’t look at stuff again. But if I’ve been through an experience like that with a company and they still have the same owners, like some companies have been sold, that’s fine. New owners, new ethics, new everything. But if it’s the same owners, same operators, and I’ve already, they’ve already kind of shown their colors, how they treat people when the rubber meets the road. I’m not really interested in trying that again. I don’t really care if they’ve, you know, changed the product. It’s, it’s the same people there to do the same. They care about selling and numbers and all this stuff when their customers are underserved or hurting or haven’t been taken care of. I don’t, I don’t really want any part of that. You know, you could, you could pay me whatever you want, but at the end of the day, we still have to deal with all that in our community. You know, we have a large, a large community. And when people don’t have something, I was actually about this, that’s something I started to interrupt you, but that’s something I was actually about to say is the thing that I like is that you’ve put, you’ve, I mean, you’ve built a system that self checks itself. So like if you’re, if you were reviewing things dishonestly or whatever, what’s going to happen is someone out of the 35 to 40,000 people in the Facebook group is going to buy it. And then they’re going to say, this sucks. And so, you know, or it’s great. And so the truth is going to come out no matter what. And I think that’s been, I think that’s been the most, one of the most useful things that you have done for the community is say, Hey, listen, there’s enough misinformation out there. What I’ll do is I’ll give you a space where you and a ton of other people that are trying to get the same benefits as you can go and just tell the truth. And if people are trying to sell in the group, boot them out, that’s it. And that’s all it has to be. And so I think what it’s done is it’s, it’s lended a space where the truth can come out about these products because there is so much marketing money put into this stuff to make something look good or look a certain way. And like you’ve tested in the past, sometimes you get it to your house and it’s just, it’s just not that it’s, it doesn’t test the same way that they said it did. It doesn’t feel the way they said it would. It doesn’t have the quality of that they said it would. So I think it’s, I think it’s a really cool thing that you’ve done. And I actually do appreciate it because it just keeps everything honest. It keeps everything real. If the company’s uncertified, it’s on a list, make, make a mistake. You contact the company and then you’re like, Hey, you need to resolve this or you’re booted off the list. And I love that. I think it’s great. I think it keeps everybody integrous. I think it keeps the standards high for the industry. And I think if someone were in that category of spending six to $10,000, they better get their six to $10,000 worth of sauna out of that purchase. You have an interesting way of articulating that, that I don’t think I’ve ever been able to, to speak on in that way. I’ve tried to say it, but I’m surprised other group members and stuff haven’t figured that out because the way the ecosystem is in our community, if multiple people have a bad experience, you’re going to know, you’re going to see it. You’re going to hear about it. If a company treats people badly, it’s going to go from bad to worse. It is a self, you know, if, if we did a review for one of these companies that I don’t like, and we made a mistake or we said it was good or something immediately, there’s going to be 10 other people that have it and be like, Hey, this thing’s a pile of, you know, why are you a bag for telling us, you know, this, this, and this, I don’t understand how people don’t, don’t see that. And it’s also really important. Like some of these community members become friends, become, you know, people who you wouldn’t steer in a wrong direction. Like you’re not going to tell them to go buy something that’s crap just because those people want to pay you to do some video or sponsored posts. Like, you know what I mean? Like it’s just not set up that way. It doesn’t work like that. It could, but it would erode. The community would erode very quickly. You know, if we did that because of the way that it works. So everything is pretty much on sale right now and time is of the essence. So rather than rambling on and telling you even more stuff that you may or may not be wanting to hear right now, just the short answer of what we try to avoid is cheap heaters, you know, poor installation or build quality, um, just bad fit and finish, super high EMF stuff, any of the safety metrics, but really with over a thousand videos on the YouTube channel, if there’s one specific thing that you’d like to know more about, all you have to do is go and search. The goal really is to get the best performance for your budget and not just pay attention to only marketing. So the saunas that are on the recommended list, the saunas that you see in the Facebook group, most of them are all verified black Friday deals. The links will be in the description. There’s no signup. It’s just real pricing from the brands. I trust real customer experiences in the Facebook group and there’s something for everybody, no matter your budget.