Portable Saunas

A portable sauna is a fabric or panel enclosure with a chair inside, heated by either a steam generator or infrared panels, that folds flat when you are done. Your head stays outside on most models, which is why they fit a bedroom corner where a cabin never could. There are three kinds on this page.

Steam tents

A tent of insulated fabric on a folding frame with a separate 800 W steam generator that pipes steam inside. They heat the air and run humid, like a steam room. The Durasage personal and portable steam saunas run from $119.95 to $164.95 in a dozen colors and two sizes (standard and oversized), and the SaunaBox SmartSteam Pro ($299), SmartSteam Pro with red light ($399) and SmartSteam XL ($429) are the step up in build and size. Sixteen units in all.

Infrared tents

The same fold-flat format with far infrared heating panels sewn into the walls instead of a generator, so the session is dry and the panels warm you directly at a lower air temperature. The Durasage range runs from the $249.95 unit with a heated footpad through the $329.95 personal model with an air ionizer to the $599.95 low EMF units and the full-size 1-person (1,000 W) and 2-person (1,500 W) models; the SaunaBox Pulse PRO ($699) adds red light panels and low EMF heaters for one to two people. Eleven units.

A full spectrum personal cabin

The Therasage Thera360 PLUS ($1,428) is a 33 by 33 by 46 inch personal sauna with full spectrum infrared, built-in red light panels, a stated 100 to 170 degrees F range at 900 W, and it still folds flat. It is the one unit here that behaves like a small cabin.

Steam feels hotter and wetter; infrared runs cooler, dry and quieter and needs no water. The full steam versus infrared comparison is on the Infrared Saunas page. Two formats you will see in searches that we do not carry: wood-fired outdoor sauna tents (a backyard product that burns wood or runs a stove) and infrared sauna blankets.

The table above lists every unit with its Type, Capacity, Power, Temperature, Size and Features. Power tells you about wiring: the 800 W steam generators and the standard-outlet infrared tents plug into any household socket; the 1,500 W two-person infrared unit should run on its own circuit rather than sharing one with other appliances. Features flag what each unit adds: folds flat (all of them), air ionizer, heated footpad, red light panels and low EMF heaters. Only the Thera360 PLUS publishes a temperature range today; we are collecting stated temperatures and heat-up times for the Durasage and SaunaBox units and will add them as the manufacturers confirm them.

• Under $200, trying sauna for the first time: a Durasage personal foldable steam sauna ($119.95 in gray, silver or light pink) or a portable steam sauna ($159.95, eight colors). Same 800 W generator and chair; the $159.95 size gives a little more room.
• More room to sit: the Durasage oversized steam saunas ($164.95) or the SaunaBox SmartSteam XL ($429).
• Infrared on a budget: the Durasage infrared sauna with heated footpad ($249.95) or with air ionizer ($259.95); the gray personal portable infrared ($329.95) adds the ionizer in the standard size.
• Low EMF infrared: the Durasage Ultra Low EMF ($599.95) or the large low EMF units in silver, copper or light pink ($599.95), which also include an ionizer, or the 1-Person Full Size ($599.95, 1,000 W).
• Red light built in: three units. The SaunaBox SmartSteam Pro Red Light Therapy Sauna ($399) puts red light panels in a steam tent; the SaunaBox Pulse PRO ($699) pairs them with low EMF far infrared; the Thera360 PLUS ($1,428) builds them into a full spectrum cabin. The panels are red light LEDs inside the enclosure, used during the session; wavelengths are listed on each product page where the manufacturer states them.
• Two people: the Durasage 2-Person Full Size Infrared Sauna ($649.95, 1,500 W) seats two; the SaunaBox Pulse PRO is rated for one to two. Everything else on the page seats one.
• A personal cabin that folds: the Thera360 PLUS ($1,428), full spectrum infrared with a stated 100 to 170 degrees F range.

If you arrived here comparing a marketplace brand at a similar price, the difference with buying from us is the same unit with the manufacturer warranty handled through one US contact, 30-day returns on eligible items and a team that knows which generator fits which tent. We do not list marketplace brands we do not stock, so we do not rate them.

A safety note that applies to every unit: drink water before and after, keep sessions to the manufacturer's time, and talk to a clinician first if you are pregnant, have a heart condition or take medication affected by heat.

What a session is like

A steam tent takes about ten minutes to fill the generator, set the timer and let the tent warm, then you sit with your head out and your arms in or out through the zip ports. An infrared tent warms in a few minutes and runs dry, so you can read inside it. Manufacturer guidance for both formats is 15 to 30 minutes per session; start shorter and build up. Does a portable sauna really work? A steam tent reaches steam-room air temperatures in an enclosure the size of a chair, and an infrared tent heats the body directly the way an infrared cabin does; what neither does is match the air volume or wood of a cabin, which is the trade for a unit that costs a tenth as much and stores in a closet.

Space and storage

Standard tents take roughly a 3 by 3 foot footprint with the chair inside and fold to a few inches thick; oversized and full-size units need a little more floor and height, and exact dimensions are on each product page. All of them work in an apartment: no plumbing, no venting, a standard outlet, and nothing permanent.

Care

Wipe the interior down after each session and leave the tent open to dry. Run the steam generator with clean water and descale it on the manufacturer's schedule; the generator is a replaceable part, so ask us if yours needs a spare. Infrared panels need no maintenance beyond keeping the fabric dry.

• Under $200: the thirteen Durasage steam tents ($119.95 to $164.95).
• $200 to $450: Durasage infrared tents with footpad or ionizer ($249.95 to $329.95) and the three SaunaBox SmartSteam units ($299 to $429).
• $600 to $700: the Durasage low EMF and full-size infrared units ($599.95 to $649.95) and the SaunaBox Pulse PRO ($699).
• Premium personal cabin: the Therasage Thera360 PLUS ($1,428).

Every unit carries a 1-year manufacturer warranty handled through us. Shipping is free to domestic USA addresses in the lower 48; Alaska, Hawaii and international orders are quoted. 30-day returns on eligible products in original condition. The SaunaBox units are also on the SaunaBox brand page, and the same tents appear with the cabin models on Steam Saunas and Infrared Saunas.

Narrower fold-flat pages: Red Light Saunas for the units with red light panels, Low EMF Infrared Saunas for the Durasage and SaunaBox units rated low EMF, and Sauna and Cold Plunge Sets for a portable sauna paired with a cold tub.