What is the Best Infrared Sauna for Home?
Owning one of the best infrared saunas on the market can often be amazing. But perhaps after reading even just a couple infrared sauna reviews, you are still wondering what really makes one brand different from the next.
We want our 12 years of research and knowledge to help your decision to be easy. We know we can help you cut through all the conflicting information and choose the best infrared sauna. We base everything on 12 years of research, use of several different products and talking with the owners of numerous companies. We talk regularly with the brands we see as the most beneficial for your health.
We hope this page saves you hours of time and gives you peace of mind. We want ours to be the best unbiased infrared sauna reviews and ratings you have read.
Criteria We Use in Choosing the Best Rated Infrared Sauna:
- Company – How long has the company operated under the same name? Will they be around to support their customers and honor a warranty?
- Type of wood and materials are used? Are toxic materials avoided? How Pure is the wood? How solid is the construction?
- Heater should have been originally designed specially for use in the health industry. Is there evidence that it is Low EMF?
- High Emissivity (infrared reaching and penetrating your body).
- Warranty – How Strong is the coverage? Do they have a history of honoring the warranty?
The people that endorse them should be highly credible and authoritative.
Infrared Sauna Best Rated for 2024
Detailed information is now located at the bottom of the page below the brand comparison chart.
Clearlight
- Best Warranty in the Industry
- Leader in low EMF and low ELF
- High Emissivity Heaters
- Exceptional Customer Service and Reputation
- Endorsed by Doctors
- Founded and Owned by Dr. Raleigh Duncan
Read Full Clearlight Sauna Review Here
Visit Clearlight Website Here
Heavenly Heat
- 35 Years of Ultra Clean Construction
- Ultra Low EMF
- Low ELF with Shielding
- Only Brand with Zero Wood Glues
- Used in Wellness Clinics
- We predict this brand will become increasing well known during 2024 and 2025. It should be.
- The best value for dollar in the industry
- Excellent Warranty
Read Heavenly Heat Sauna Review Here
Visit Heavenly Heat Website Here
Sunlighten
- Industry Leader and Aggressive innovator. Started 25 years ago.
- The mPulse line includes High Technology.
- Beautiful looking products.
- Heaters are Excellent. Signature Series uses Patented Solocarbon heaters and mPulse line is full spectrum.
- Far and Full Spectrum available. Very customizable.
- Patented Magne-Seal assembly.
- EMF readings are slightly higher than our other top rated brands
- Good Warranty
Read Sunlighten Sauna Review Here
Visit Sunlighten Website Here
Vital Health
- Great Looking products
- Lower markup and lower price than most
- Excellent choice instead of cheap, ineffective brands
- Engineered for maximum heater coverage
- Excellent history of customer service
- Red Lights and other options
- Latest Gen V Heaters added 2024
Read Vital Health Sauna Review Here
The Best Infrared Sauna Brands Compared
Jacuzzi Clearlight, Heavenly Heat and Sunlighten make top rated, powerfully effective infrared saunas. Each is very different and offers different benefits for you. Our detailed reviews based on regular meetings with company owners provide you with how to choose what is best for you. The Comparison Table below shows the one with the most powerful medical-grade heaters in the industry.
Comparison Table: Top Infrared Saunas 2024 with Ratings and Comparisons. Updated April 2024.
| Company Name | Company History | Heater Rating | EMF Levels Safety | Warranty Highlights | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearlight | Started by Doctor. Same Owner for 30 years.. Innovator. Endorsed by Hippocrates and other Top Wellness Clinics and Doctors. Our pick for best home sauna in 2014 to 2024. | Excellent. Ceramic-Infused Carbon Panels. Strongest detoxification of all Carbon Panels. | Very Low Posts third party test results on their site. Average EMF is 0.05. | Unrivaled in the Industry. Full Lifetime on All Components. | Pioneered Low EMF and low ELF. Floor emitter below feet. Excellent Customer Service. Has the best portable sauna dome. |
| Heavenly Heat | Started in 1988. Small company. Very Low pressure sales. One of the highest rated saunas for craftsmanship and customer service. Only makes clean product line. Endorsed by dozens of top worldwide clinics and the top chemically sensitive doctor in the world. | 304 surgical stainless steel Ceramic. Offers Ceramic/Steam Combo unit. Options to customize. | Ultra Low. Re tested in 2024 | 10 year warranty on the sauna and 6 year warranty on the infrared heaters. 2nd strongest in industry. | Best Home Sauna for the Chemical Sensitive person. Ultra Pure Product. No Glue used. Ultra low EMF and ELF. Functional over Astestics |
| Sunlighten | 15 years under Sunlighten name. Innovative Technology. Endorsed by a lot of online doctors and online health bloggers. | Signature uses SoloCarbon. Proprietary, modern mid and far panels in mPulse. LED near IR in center of panels. 2010 patent for ceramic powder panels called Solo Carbon. | Signature- Low
mpulse -10.0+ | Limited Lifetime of max 7 years on most parts. Covers parts only 1 yr-sound systems 1 yr – chromotherapy | Well known name. A bit higher pressure sales than others. Customer Service is very good. |
| Vital Health | 15 year history, innovating, online name change from Vital to Vital Health in 2015. Exceptional customer service. | Proprietary carbon panels with high emmisivity. Strong full spectrum available on all models. | low | Lifetime on cabinets, heaters & Controls. 1 year on Radio/CD players Unclear on Wiring. Very Good Warranty. | Has now become a recommended brand. 15 year history now show longevity. Well thought out designs. Posted Prices and Free Shipping. |
| SaunaCore | 30+ years Same Company. Actual Manufacturer. Luxury models are very high priced. | 304 surgical stainless steel Ceramic. Offers Standard Carbon in lower end product line. Traditional Steam Products | Low 3.0 on ceramic. Unsure on low end carbon. | Lifetime on ceramic elements. 5 years on other components. Low end Finn-Core 5 years on heater and 1 year on parts. | Large Product Line. Offers Customization. A Pure Medical Line. Air Circulation in High End Models. Ceramic emitter below feet Prices range up to $25,000 |
| HealthMate | 30+ years history. In 2015 expanded product line from 1 to now 3 main product lines. Sold in 2019. Quality has dropped since 2019 | Steel Ceramic Rods with Patented Alloy. As of 2015- now offers lower end unit with carbon panels and ceramic rods. | Low 3.0-10.0 Posts third party test results on their site. Actual readings can be higher. | Varies with models. Tecoloy Heaters – Lifetime. Craftsmanship, controllers, power supply and TruInfra heaters 5 years. The half size lower-body unit and accessories are 1-3 years. | Patented Tecoloy Ceramic Rods. Good customer reputation. |
| Rocky Mountain | Re-seller. Dozens of closely packed wood slats block 50% of heat waves. Was associated with West Coast which is now out of business. | Standard average Carbon. Low emmisivity. | EMF has been lowered to
Owner informed me they do not see the need for low EMF. | Lifetime on wood and wiring. Lifetime Service warranty on Heaters. 90 day to 1 year on electronics. | Reseller of mass produced product with higher markups. Numerous vertical Wood Slats block nearly half of the beneficial light waves. Good marketing. High Pressure sales. |
| Finnleo | Standard Carbon | uncertain. | 1-5 years on heating controls & wood | Good customer service. Ceramic emitter below feet. Average construction. Above average appearance. Good marketing. |
How do You Choose Among the Top Rated?
We understand many brands look nearly identical, making it difficult to distinguish between them. This is a significant investment that you will own for many years, so you want to choose the right one for you. Our comparison above simplifies the selection of the best infrared sauna for you.
Only a few brands have the quality to last for decades.
Important Note: 95% of all products in this industry are mass produced at 4 production lines in China. Anyone can form an LLC and begin selling any of these as a re-seller. That is exactly what 90% of the companies are. Unfortunately most company owners know little of infrared and make no innovations. And that is why so many look almost identical with a few cosmetic add-ons to differentiate among brands. Please purchase carefully.
Our Research on the Top Rated Infrared Sauna
- Top recommendations near top of page
- A comparison table above presenting the basic features and benefits of the top brands.
- Why so many brands look similar. This is important to understand.
- What we own at our home and why we think it is the best far infrared sauna on the market.
- Difference between Therapeutic and Recreation purposes. This is critical.
- Please read a few of the individual infrared sauna reviews 2024 on our site. (All reviews have been updated as of April 2024). This will inform you which are really the highest rated and why they deserve that rating.
- The more you know before you call one of the following companies, the better you can determine who is giving you accurate answers.
Understanding which product is right for you can be a time consuming and very frustrating decision as so much information seems to be conflicting. It doesn’t help that every retailer claims theirs are the better than all others.
We have compiled all the information you need to make an easy and informed decision. The highlights are condensed as much as possible into the comparison table below.
Please Note: Full reviews for most companies and models are posted on our site and we highly recommend you read a few of them as this will make this table much more understandable. Most online infrared sauna reviews are basic repetition of the information on product websites. We want ours to be the very best far infrared sauna review you can find anywhere. Ours are based on 12 years of research and discussions with company owners.
The Recommended Purchase Decision Process
- Review the Comparison table above.
- Read our individual reviews of the highly rated Brands.
- Visit the websites of a couple of the highly rated companies. Tell them Cody the SaunaGuy from sent you (and mention the Healing Heat discount). A few of the companies offer a better final price to my readers. They offer this as my readers are more educated and informed before talking with them
What is the Best Far Infrared Sauna for You – A Fast Decision
If this describes you, we have this summary process. You will be pleased with any of the following short suggestions. None will disappoint.
You just want a fast decision, want the top brand and don’t want any regrets – buy a Clearlight (the brand pictured above). Clearlight has the strongest warranty in the industry, most powerful detoxifying carbon panels and 3 simple, easy to understand models. There is no greater value. They are an industry leader and innovator. Visit their site – their owners and salespeople offer low pressure informed help.
If this is for an extremely chemically sensitive person or your life has been adapted at home and work to avoid any plastic out gasses, then Heavenly Heat is for you. They are remarkably clean with no wood glues. They leave out radios and speakers so even minimal plastic out gassing is removed.
If you want a very high end, customized cabin, or an entirely custom built sauna room in your home? Call Clearlight or Sunlighten.
For Beautiful looking high tech wood cabins, choose a Sunlighten or Jacuzzi Clearlight.
Want a quality replacement for cheap brands? Consider Vital Health. Much better than cheap brands and very efficiently designed.
For Full Spectrum, Sunlighten, Heavenly Heat, Clearlight and Vital Health all offer far and near infrared on select models.
Which Brand Do We Own at Our House?
Clearlight. It was a very easy, clear decision (at the time).
A family member is allergic to dust and carpets, avoids perfumes, scented dryer sheets, etc and has no problem with our Clearlight. I purchased our Clearlight with no discount or incentive. It was specifically chosen after a few months of initial thorough research. This entire site resulted from those early months of research, after my Clearlight purchase.
When we purchased in 2012, Clearlight had significant advantages over the other infrared sauna brands. However, Sunlighten, an excellent choice, has improved greatly over that time and has some superior technology in its mPulse models. As well, Heavenly Heat has improved its EMF readings even more to rival Clearlight and it has maintained its absolute purity in construction.
I am asked often if I would buy the same brand today. The answer is probably. The best infrared sauna for home use? For my home, Heavenly Heat now rivals it in many ways, so it would be a tough decision. Remember, that is for my home. Sunlighten does not fit what we need but for many it is the perfect choice.
My desire is to help you find the right product for you and your family, saving you dozens of hours of research and helping you dramatically improve your health.
Infrared Heater Options
You will have a choice of carbon heating panels, ceramic heaters or combination carbon and ceramic.
Heating Choices include Carbon, Ceramic and Dry/Wet Steam Combos
Helping you choose. The following table has links to our top rated home infrared sauna reviews of 2024 with the best brands at the top. There is no need to look beyond the first four companies listed in this table.
What Features are Important in a Home Sauna Purchase?
Infrared heaters on the back wall are a standard feature. However, you also want infrared on the side walls, behind your legs and sides of your legs. There are several important criteria in what to look for in an infrared sauna. Ideally, for sauna heater placement, you want heaters in front. Optional near infrared lamps are a terrific feature. Our comparison table shows the top rated brands with all of these features.
Ensuring you have all of the above heater locations will greatly affect your overall benefit.
A Therapeutic infrared sauna will provide the quality and intensity of infrared light that will penetrate deep into tissues. A session in one of these will release toxins from fatty tissues, heal damaged tissues, re-train the body to remain in a relaxed state and many other substantial detox benefits. These will help you lose weight, reduce pain, provide temperature control, improve skin condition and will be manufactured with superior materials such as clean red Canadian cedar.
In contrast, a Recreational unit will get hot, will heat your body and promote sweating. However, it will not detox or provide any of the therapeutic benefits described above. The sweat produced will not contain toxins as toxins will not be released from your body. These types of products are good for warming muscles prior to and after exercise and will promote some temporary relaxation. But their benefits do not include much more. These units are typically sold in large stores for $1500. They will take longer to get a 1 person sauna hot than it takes for a quality unit to heat up a 3 person unit.
A cheap unit will be similar to a traditional sauna, with hot temperatures that will warm the body but not provide permanent weight loss or any of the tremendous benefits that are reported in clinical studies.
Important Industry Turnover Consideration
In this industry, 40% of companies go out of business within a few years leaving customers with no valid warranty, no parts and no recourse. So the length of time the company has operated under the same company name is important in your purchase decision. And they are usually not the actual manufacturers. There are exceptions.
An example of a good brand that incorporated a small change is Vital Saunas. This brand altered its name slightly to Vital Health Saunas in 2015 to focus on the health aspect of the brand. However, all warranties remained valid and high quality customer service was continued. In this instance, the addition to the name was not a change in any other aspect of the company.
You also don’t want to breathe in the same toxins you are trying to remove from your body. So the wood and construction materials used are important. Please ask the company if they use and hidden plywood or toxic glues.
Where exactly were the EMF readings taken? (One company told us they had low EMF. We later learned those readings were measured by the door almost 3 feet away from the heater. However, next to the heater it was 10x the safe level). We applaud companies like Clearlight, Sunlighten and Heavenly Heat who actually post the test results on their websites. However, the posted results for Sunlighten are for the Signature only and the Health Mate readings are 10x higher than Clearlight.
How good is the Warranty? Be aware that numerous warranties define limited lifetime to be as short as 7 years, 5 years or less. One very disappointing brand, Saunacore, has confusing products and warranties. While it promotes quality and a long warranty, it also offers a very low quality product line with a 1 year warranty.
All brands offer a 1 person and a 2 person infrared sauna. In addition to those, the brands begin differentiating in sizes and offerings.
Conclusion – Choosing the Best Home Infrared Sauna for Your Family?
We have looked carefully into many brands and strive to provide you with solid recommendations. If you read the individual reviews and follow the recommendations, you will be very pleased with your results. Your purchased brand will be more comfortable, more energy efficient and promote improved health and wellness.
We have discussed the criteria for choosing the best infrared sauna for home use on the market here on this page. For ease of use, our top recommendations are shown in the sidebar on most pages. Our hope is you find them to be helpful, unbiased infrared sauna reviews that save you many hours and help you find the right one for your home. We are certain you will feel more competent when you contact one of the brands. Infrared heat therapy enhances your health in tremendous ways. Every infrared sauna review we post is meant to do one thing. To give you the information you need to make your optimal choice and to save you time. This therapy is becoming more popular for good reasons. As this heat therapy increases, we wish you tremendous health benefits from your new purchase.