Saunas are staples in gyms and spas for good reason: they bring incredible health benefits, from promoting muscle recovery and improving cardiovascular health to reducing muscle pains and improving overall wellness. Problem is, you have to go to a gym or spa to partake in them, since saunas aren’t exactly the kind of things you will find in many homes. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible to bring the sauna experience to your home.
No, you don’t need to hire a contractor to build you a custom sauna in the backyard or convert a spare bedroom into one. Nowadays, there are a number of options in home saunas that make it possible to partake in its benefits without making that much fuss. While there are semi-permanent options that give you pre-fabricated pods meant to serve as saunas, you don’t need to opt for anything that expensive, either. For many people, a portable home sauna that they can set up when needed and pack up when not in use will make for a more cost-effective solution.
The best portable home saunas can heat the air around you much like a traditional sauna, which causes your body temperature to rise and sweat to stream out of your pores. They come with their own heating solutions, too, so you don’t need to take the space heater from the balcony to use in your tiny sauna room. While traditional saunas would burn wood or steam rocks to produce the heat, home options typically rely on electric-powered heating systems. Infrared is a most popular option for home saunas, since it offers a lot of convenience, although it tends to produce lower temperatures that are just enough to induce sweating. Saunas with electric steamers are also widely used for those who prefer a more humid type of heat. Alternatively, there are also home options that use rocks and heating elements to achieve high temperatures on par with commercial sauna facilities, although these tend to be larger, pricier, and require more complicated installation.
These are the best portable home saunas to bring the benefits of heat therapy right where you live.
Tatdol Portable Home Steam Sauna Box
Pros
- Affordable
- Heats up fast
- Feels like a proper steam room
Cons
- Doesn’t get as hot as real steam rooms
- Takes a bit of time to assemble
A portable home sauna option, this setup includes a tent-like enclosure with a hole at the bottom for passing through a hose connected to the electric steamer that’s situated outside. Setting up will vary based on how fast you are assembling this kind of stuff, but it took us around 20 minutes, so you probably don’t want to take this down, unless you like spending another 20 minutes setting it up each time out (you could go that route, though, if you need the space). It stands around 5’9″ tall, so shorter individuals should be able to stand inside during their sessions, although it also comes with a folding chair for those who’d rather spend the time inside sat down comfortably. The chair is fine enough, although we prefer to
use a plastic stool instead.
The included steamer has a 2.6L water tank, which allows it to run for up to two hours at a time, while nine heat settings (122 degrees Fahrenheit maximum) allow you to set your desired heat levels. Naturally, it doesn’t get anywhere near as hot as traditional steam rooms, but it does make things hot enough that you will be genuinely sweating, much like you do in a typical sauna. It heats up the space inside the housing to satisfactorily warm levels in around 15 to 20 minutes. Do note, you’ll want to make sure to give this a wipe down and leave the door open to help after every use, since all that moisture leave it susceptible to mold and mildew if you’re not careful.
SereneLife Portable Infrared Sauna
Pros
- Affordable
- Infrared heat doesn’t heat up the room
- Gets hotter than steam-based portable saunas
Cons
- Temperature can fluctuate by over 10 degrees
While this portable home sauna is also available with an electric steamer, we prefer this infrared version, which uses infrared lamps to deliver heat to the body directly instead of heating up the space. This is particularly useful if you want to sweat up a storm without heating up the rest of the room, allowing you to use it indoors without bringing hot air to the surrounding space. It actually feels hotter compared to the steam heat produced using the option above, with the outfit listing the maximum temperature at 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Do note, it doesn’t exactly maintain stable temperatures, instead tending to fluctuate in a range from 125 degrees to the listed 140 degrees. Either way, that’s enough heat way to make your sweat without making things uncomfortable, which we think most people will like. It comes with a remote that lets you adjust temperature (from 57 degrees to 140 degrees) and runtime (up to 60 minutes) to your liking, as well as a heated foot pad to really help you warm up. Features include a metal alloy frame, aluminum insulated film lining, and a collapsible chair.
SaunaBox SmartStream Kit Pro
Pros
- Fiberglass frame and insulated walls
- Antimicrobial treatment to prevent mold growth
- Portable design comes with carrying case
- Machine-washable, removable floor
Cons
- Takes longer than advertised to heat up
While this portable option also uses an electric steamer, it’s over twice the price of the first portable home sauna in the list. Why? Well, the frame is made of fiberglass instead of steel pipes, which should work better to avoid rusting, with Thermoshield walls that are better at insulating heat than the other’s canvas material. Heck, it even gets an antimicrobial treatment, so you don’t have to worry about mold or bacteria growth. It just seems like a nicer package overall, even coming with a machine-washable, moisture-absorbing floor mat, so you won’t be steep in a puddle of sweat the whole time. The setup uses an electric steamer to pump humid heat into the space, which comes with seven heat settings, a 3.6L water tank, and a remote that lets you adjust it from inside the tent. It does take a bit longer to heat up than the advertised 15 minutes, although it does a great job of maintaining its sweat-inducing temperatures once it gets there.
HigherDOSE Infrared Sauna Blanket
Pros
- Very portable
- Heats up to 158 degrees
- Uses dry infrared heat
- Heats up pretty fast
Cons
- Hard to clean sweaty interior
- Requires you to lie down
Blanket-style saunas may not feel the same as sitting in a hot room (you’re lying down, after all), but this portable home sauna solution definitely delivers when it comes to raising your body temperature and making you sweat up a veritable flood. Billed as an “infrared wrap blanket,” the contraption uses far infrared to deliver safe heat directly to your body, while low EMF and ELF currents ground it to ensure safe operation at all times. The blanket also included layers of clay, charcoal, and crystals, although we’re not exactly sure what those are meant to do (they probably do add quite a bit to the price tag, though).
If you don’t like waiting 15 to 30 minutes for portable home saunas to heat up, you’ll love the fact that this only takes 10 minutes to reach your heat settings, allowing you to get started without much wait, all while heating up to 158 degrees, so it can get quite hot under the sheets if you’re not used to sauna treatments. It is quite the hassle to clean, though, so we really recommend using one of those inserts to make cleanup a lot easier, aside from increasing the product’s likely lifespan. Using it is pretty easy, almost feeling like you’re getting into a sleeping bag, although you will need to find a heatproof surface to lie down on, since this thing can get hot.
Sweat Tent Portable Outdoor Sauna
Pros
- Comes with real wood-fired stove
- Can produce dry or humid heat
- Sets up in three minutes
- Packable when not in use
- Fits three people
Cons
- Whole thing weighs 95 pounds, so not very portable
- No bench or chairs included
We love the shape of this portable home sauna, which looks more tent-like than other options we’ve seen. However, that’s not the reason why it’s so much pricier than other portable designs. Sure, it’s got nice insulated walls, a fiberglass roof cover, and an ultra-convenient popup design that makes it so much easier to set up. However, what really makes it stand out is the included steel sauna stove that burns real wood to produce dry heat, just like a traditional sauna. It also comes with rocks that you can pour water on for steam when you feel the need for some humid heat. The stove can produce heat levels up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, so this gets hotter than most other home sauna options out there. It’s decently fast, too, taking around 30 minutes to heat up to those temperatures, just like the product marketing claims. With the included stove, it’s not quite as easy to transport compared to other portable options (the stove alone weighs 65 pounds), but it definitely makes for a great pick if you’re looking for a home sauna you can set up in the backyard.
