Choosing between an infrared sauna and a traditional sauna is the first big decision most sauna buyers face. Both give you real heat, a proper sweat and a good reason to switch your phone off for half an hour. They just get there in very different ways.
Here is the short answer. A traditional sauna heats the air around you. An infrared sauna warms your body directly. That one difference shapes everything else, from how hot the cabin gets to what it costs to run.
This guide walks through how each type works, how they compare on the things that matter, and which one suits different homes and habits. By the end, you should know exactly which side of the fence you sit on.
What is a traditional sauna?
A traditional sauna is the classic Finnish experience. A heater warms a bed of sauna stones, the stones warm the air, and the hot air warms you. Cabin temperatures usually sit between 70 and 90 degrees Celsius, and you control the character of the heat yourself. Ladle water over the stones and a wave of steam lifts the humidity and the intensity in one satisfying hit. The Finns call it loyly, and it is the heart of the whole ritual.
Sessions tend to be short and punchy. Ten to twenty minutes in the heat, a cool shower or a blast of fresh air, then back in for another round. If you want the full background, read our guide to what a traditional sauna is.
At Hekla, our traditional saunas bring the Finnish sauna indoors, lined in thermally modified aspen. Our outdoor saunas, including the barrel, cube and cabin ranges, take the same traditional heat out into the garden.
What is an infrared sauna?
An infrared sauna skips the middle step. Instead of heating the air, infrared panels emit gentle radiant warmth that your body absorbs directly. The cabin itself only reaches around 45 to 60 degrees Celsius, but you still work up a deep sweat because the warmth is going straight into you.
The heat feels very different. It builds gradually, it never takes your breath away, and most people find they can stay in comfortably for 30 minutes or more. There is no steam and no water involved, just a steady, enveloping warmth. Our explainer on what an infrared sauna is covers the science in more depth.
Our infrared saunas use full spectrum infrared and the same thermo-aspen interiors as the rest of the range.
What is the difference between an infrared and a traditional sauna?
Side by side, the two types differ on six things that matter day to day.
| Traditional sauna | Infrared sauna | |
|---|---|---|
| Air temperature | 70 to 90°C | 45 to 60°C |
| How it heats you | Heater warms the air, the air warms you | Panels warm your body directly |
| Humidity | Dry heat with bursts of steam when you ladle water over the stones | Dry throughout |
| Warm-up time | Around 30 to 45 minutes | Around 10 to 15 minutes |
| Typical session | 10 to 20 minutes, often in rounds | 25 to 40 minutes in one sitting |
| Power use | Higher, the heater works hard to heat the whole cabin | Lower, the panels only need to warm you |
The temperature gap is the one people notice first. A traditional sauna at 85 degrees is a big, bold heat that you feel the moment you open the door. An infrared cabin at 55 degrees sounds tame by comparison, but give it 15 minutes and you will be sweating just as hard. Our sauna temperature guide goes deeper on what those numbers actually feel like.
Running costs follow the same logic. Heating a whole cabin of air to 85 degrees takes more energy than warming a body directly, so an infrared sauna is generally cheaper to run per session. The full numbers are in our guide to how much a sauna costs to run.
Does a lower temperature mean less benefit?
This is the objection infrared always runs into, and it deserves a proper answer. The reasoning goes that a traditional sauna gets far hotter, so it must be doing more. It sounds obvious. It is also measuring the wrong thing.
Your body responds to a rise in its own core temperature, not to the number on the cabin thermometer. Air temperature is only one route to getting there. A traditional sauna raises your core temperature by surrounding you with very hot air. An infrared sauna does it by putting radiant heat straight into your body, which is why a 55 degree cabin can leave you every bit as wrung out as an 85 degree one.
Think about a summer day. Sit in the shade and the air can be baking. Step into direct sunlight on a much cooler day and the heat on your skin is stronger still, even though the air around you is nowhere near as warm. Same body, two different routes to the same feeling.
Session length does the rest of the work. A traditional sauna is intense and short, 10 to 20 minutes at a time before you need a breather. Infrared is gentler and longer, half an hour or more without it ever becoming a test of endurance, which keeps your core temperature raised for longer. It is the difference between a sprint and a steady run. Both count.
Which points to the part that matters most. The best sauna is the one you actually use. Four comfortable sessions a week will do more for you than the occasional heroic 15 minutes in a cabin you have to talk yourself into.
Why some infrared saunas disappoint
There is a fair version of the complaint, though, and it is worth being honest about it. Plenty of people have sat in an infrared cabin, felt distinctly underwhelmed and decided the whole idea is oversold. Usually the cabin was at fault rather than the technology.
Three things tend to go wrong. Cheap emitters do not produce enough infrared to warm you properly, so you sit there waiting for something to happen. Poor insulation and thin, badly sealed timber lets heat escape as quickly as the panels can make it. And sometimes the cabin is perfectly good but the expectation was wrong, because someone walked in hoping for the wall of heat that hits you in a Finnish sauna, which is not what infrared sets out to do.
A good infrared sauna should have you sweating properly within about 15 minutes and thoroughly warmed through by the end of the session. If it does not, be sceptical about that cabin rather than about infrared. It is why our infrared saunas use full spectrum emitters behind the same thermally modified aspen as the rest of the range. The heat has to be worth sitting in.
Which sauna is right for you?
You want the authentic sauna experience
Traditional, no contest. The stones, the steam, the ritual of the ladle, the cold rinse between rounds. If your idea of a sauna was formed in Finland, a spa or a lakeside cabin, only a traditional sauna will scratch that itch.
You find high heat hard work
Infrared is the kinder option. The lower air temperature makes it much more approachable if you find a full-heat sauna overwhelming, and it is often the better fit for people who are newer to heat bathing or simply prefer a gentler session.
You are watching your running costs
Infrared edges it. Faster warm-up and lower power draw mean each session costs less. A traditional sauna is far from ruinous, but if you plan to use your sauna most days, the difference adds up over a year.
You want a sauna in the garden
Traditional heat is the natural choice outdoors. Our barrel, cube and cabin saunas are all built for British weather, and there is little to match a proper hot sauna on a cold evening with the garden around you.
You are short on time
An infrared sauna is ready in 10 to 15 minutes, so a session fits inside a lunch break. A traditional sauna rewards a slower pace. If your evenings are unhurried, that is a feature rather than a flaw.
You are buying for two, or for a family
Size narrows the choice too. Every Hekla infrared cabin seats one or two, so if it will mostly be the two of you, compare our saunas for couples across both heat types. For three or four people, traditional heat is the way to go, and our saunas for three to four people include indoor and garden models.
Do infrared and traditional saunas have the same benefits?
Broadly, yes. Most of the things people love saunas for come from the heat itself. Both types raise your core temperature, get you sweating, ease tired muscles and give you a rare pocket of quiet. Much of the long-term research comes from Finland and traditional saunas, while infrared is popular with people who want those heat sessions at a temperature they find easier to sit with.
Whichever type you choose, consistency matters more than the badge on the heater. Our guide to the benefits of sauna covers what the research does and does not say.
Infrared vs traditional: the verdict
- Choose a traditional sauna for the authentic Finnish experience, steam on demand and that unmistakable big heat.
- Choose an infrared sauna for gentler warmth, faster warm-up, longer sessions and lower running costs.
- Choose an outdoor sauna if the garden is calling. They all run traditional heat.
There is no wrong answer here. It comes down to how you want the heat to feel, and that is a very personal thing.
Feel the difference for yourself
Reading about heat only gets you so far. The quickest way to choose is to sit in both, five minutes in each, and see which one you step out of already planning your next session. Find your nearest Hekla showroom and try them back to back.
