The Infrared vs. Traditional Sauna Debate: What the Market Data Actually Shows
The global sauna equipment market passed $900 million in 2024 and is growing at roughly 6% annually. Here is what the data actually shows about the two dominant categories.
The question that generates the most heated debate in the sauna industry (infrared or traditional?) is usually framed as a binary competition. But a closer look at market data, consumer behavior, and clinical evidence suggests the two categories are diverging rather than competing. They serve increasingly distinct customer segments with different motivations.
Market Size and Growth
The global sauna equipment market was valued at approximately $905 million in 2024 by Grand View Research, with a projected CAGR of 6.3% through 2033. Within that, Grand View's data puts the traditional sauna segment (Finnish, smoke, and steam saunas) at roughly 43% of revenue, with infrared holding a larger share. The balance is split among hybrid designs and emerging categories like infrared panels and portable units.
Both segments are growing, but at different rates and in different channels. Traditional saunas are growing faster in the custom-built residential and commercial segments, while infrared saunas dominate the direct-to-consumer and ecommerce channels.
One data point worth flagging: on the Harvia Q4 2025 earnings call on 12 February 2026, CEO Matias Järnefelt explicitly identified US infrared as the next category Harvia wants to consolidate. That is a meaningful strategic signal from the largest publicly traded sauna company in the world about where the puck is moving.
"One of the prime candidates is infrared sauna business in the United States." — Matias Järnefelt, CEO, Harvia Plc, Q4 2025 earnings call, 12 February 2026
Järnefelt added that Harvia is also evaluating "other significant-sized markets in categories such as cold wellness, digital wellness" — a reminder that the wellness stack infrared brands are competing on (thermal therapy, recovery, at-home convenience) is increasingly bundled, not siloed.
Consumer Motivation
Purchase motivation data consistently shows strikingly different profiles between the two categories.
Clinical Evidence
The clinical research base is deeper for traditional saunas, largely due to decades of Finnish epidemiological studies, including the landmark Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease study. Infrared-specific research has accelerated since 2020, particularly in chronic pain management and cardiovascular markers.
Neither category has a monopoly on health benefits. The mechanisms differ: traditional saunas create benefits primarily through extreme heat exposure and the cardiovascular stress response that follows, while infrared saunas work through deeper tissue penetration at lower ambient temperatures.
Pricing and Channel Dynamics
Average selling prices tell an interesting story. The median traditional sauna installation in the U.S. runs between $4,500 and $12,000, while the median infrared unit sells for $1,800 to $5,000. This price gap has significant implications for distribution strategy, marketing spend, and how each category reaches its buyers.
Rather than converging, these two categories are likely to keep differentiating, each deepening its hold on a distinct customer base.
Arlene Scott
Senior Wellness Correspondent & Hospitality Consultant
Arlene Scott brings over fifteen years of reporting and consulting experience across energy infrastructure, sustainable design, and thermotherapy-focused hospitality.
Full byline
Arlene Scott is a Senior Wellness Correspondent for SaunaNews.com, bringing over fifteen years of experience at the intersection of energy infrastructure, sustainable design, and thermotherapy. Her work focuses on the physiological benefits of passive heat therapies and the sustainable integration of sauna culture into modern wellness routines.
Arlene's background is rooted in the clean energy transition. She was a founding writer at MicrogridMedia.com, where she covered the technical and economic viability of desalination projects, microgrid deployments, and distributed renewable energy systems. During the mid-2010s, she was a regular contributor to Greentech Media (GTM) during its independent era — prior to the Wood Mackenzie acquisition in 2016 — reporting on the early integration of thermal energy storage and sustainable infrastructure.
Transitioning her focus from macro-energy systems to human-scale wellness, Arlene now applies her technical background to the hospitality sector. She operates as an independent consultant, advising boutique hotels and eco-resorts on the design, energy efficiency, and historical authenticity of commercial sauna and thermal spa installations. Her consulting work ensures that high-end wellness facilities balance traditional Nordic bathing principles with modern sustainable engineering.
Arlene holds a specialized certification in Applied Thermic Wellness from the Nordic Institute of Passive Heat Studies (NIPHS) and is a recognized associate member of the International Sauna Association (ISA). When she isn't reviewing the latest innovations in infrared technology or consulting on a new resort project, Arlene can be found tending to her own traditional wood-fired sauna in the Pacific Northwest. You can read her complete archive of essays on energy, wellness, and sustainable living at www.arlenescott.com.
