Saunas and steam rooms both get filed under "heat therapy," and both are popular additions to a home wellness space, but they're built differently and feel very different. The short answer: a sauna is a wood-lined room with hot, fairly dry air (or infrared panels), while a steam room is a sealed, waterproof enclosure filled with steam at a lower temperature. For most homes a prefabricated sauna cabin is the simpler install; a steam room or steam shower makes most sense when you're already working on a bathroom.
What's the Difference Between a Sauna and a Steam Room?
A traditional sauna is a wood-lined room heated by a dry or low-humidity heat source: an electric or wood-fired stove warming rocks, or infrared panels warming your body directly. A steam room is a sealed, waterproof enclosure (tile, acrylic or glass) fed by a steam generator that fills the space with near-100% humidity at a much lower air temperature. The wood in a sauna would warp and mold in that much moisture, which is why the two are never built the same way.
| Traditional Sauna | Infrared Sauna | Steam Room | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air temperature | About 150–195°F | About 120–140°F | About 110–120°F |
| Humidity | Low, raised briefly by water on the rocks | Low | Near 100% |
| Construction | Wood-lined room | Wood-lined cabin | Waterproof: tile, acrylic or glass |
| Heat source | Electric or wood stove + rocks | Infrared panels | Steam generator |
| Typical home power | 240V stove, often 4.5–9 kW | Mostly 120V; use the circuit the manual asks for | 220–240V generator (3 kW on the steam showers we carry) |
| Needs plumbing? | No | No | Yes: water supply and a drain |
| Typical session | 10–20 minutes | 20–30 minutes, often longer at lower heat | 10–15 minutes |
Temperatures are typical ranges, not standards: your own settings and the maker's limits decide where you land. Home infrared cabins usually top out around 140°F.
Does a Steam Room Feel Different Than a Sauna?
Yes. A steam room's saturated air feels much hotter than its actual temperature because humidity slows evaporative cooling, so your skin stays wet with condensation rather than sweat evaporating off. A dry sauna's heat is more intense in absolute temperature but can feel easier to breathe since the air is drier. Many people find steam more comfortable when their nose feels stuffy, and a traditional sauna's dry heat more intense overall.
A traditional sauna also gives you some control over humidity: pouring water over the heated rocks makes a burst of steam called löyly. So it isn't purely a dry-heat experience; it's adjustable, where a steam room is fixed at full saturation. Our wet vs dry sauna guide covers that middle ground.
What Does Each One Cost to Install and Run?
A prefabricated indoor infrared sauna or traditional sauna cabin is usually the simpler install: it needs a level floor, some airflow around it, and either a 120V or a dedicated 240V circuit depending on the heater. Our guide to what a home sauna costs breaks down buying, installing and running one.
A steam shower needs waterproofing, a drain, a water supply for the steam generator and a sealed enclosure to hold in humidity. That usually means a plumber and an electrician, and it's why steam showers are mostly sold as walk-in or jetted-tub units that replace an existing shower or bath. The units we carry use a 3 kW steam generator on a 220V circuit (a few offer 110V as an option). A custom-built steam room needs all of that plus a generator sized to the room and a tiled, sloped ceiling and floor, so it's a renovation project rather than a purchase.
Running cost: every heater costs about its power rating in kilowatts times your electricity rate for each hour it runs at full power. At the 2026 US average of about 18¢ per kWh (EIA), a 3 kW steam generator costs about 54¢ an hour, a 6 kW sauna stove about $1.08 an hour, and a 2-person infrared cabin (about 1.5–2 kW) about 27–36¢ an hour. Steam generators and infrared cabins heat up fast; a traditional stove needs 30–45 minutes to warm the rocks, so it runs longer per session.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose a sauna if: you want a simpler install (many models arrive as a prefabricated cabin), you prefer dry or moderate heat, or you want the option of a longer, lower-temperature infrared session.
Choose a steam room if: you already have (or are renovating) a bathroom or shower space with plumbing and a drain, you want maximum humidity, or you specifically want steam rather than radiant or convective heat. A steam shower also doubles as your everyday shower.
Some people install both: a steam shower in an existing bathroom and a separate sauna cabin elsewhere in the home. If you've settled on a sauna and are deciding between heater types, read our infrared vs traditional sauna guide.
Sauna and Steam Room Safety
Both should be used in moderation. Keep traditional sauna and steam sessions to roughly 10–20 minutes (infrared sessions often run a little longer at lower heat), stay hydrated, avoid alcohol beforehand, and get out if you feel dizzy or unwell. Our sauna session time and safety guide goes into more detail.
Ventilation matters for both: a sauna needs fresh air exchange, and a steam room or steam shower needs a fan or vent to clear humidity after use and prevent mold. Pregnant women and anyone with a heart condition, a fever, or an open wound or skin infection should check with a doctor before using either one.
Frequently Confused Terms
"Steam sauna" is used loosely to mean either a traditional sauna with steam added (water on the rocks) or an actual steam room. "Wet sauna" usually means the first. If you're shopping, check whether the product is a wood-lined cabin (a sauna) or a sealed waterproof enclosure with a steam generator (a steam room or steam shower), since the construction, plumbing and upkeep are completely different.
