Best Full-Spectrum Infrared Sauna for 2 or 3 People (Indoor and Outdoor)

Far infrared carbon panels warm your skin and the air at low surface temperature; they are what every infrared sauna has. Full-spectrum cabins add heaters that also emit near and mid infrared. Clearlight says its 500 W full-spectrum heaters put out about one third near, one third mid and one third far infrared.

How much of the heat is full spectrum varies a lot. The Clearlight Sanctuary 2 has two 500 W full-spectrum heaters, 1,000 W of its 2,250 W. The Maxxus cabins add 2 or 3 near infrared elements to 4 far infrared carbon panels. The Sun Home Equinox uses 2 full-spectrum heaters with 4 or 5 far infrared heaters. Compare heater counts and watts, not the words on the box.

If you already know you want only far infrared, the Clearlight Premier IS-2 is the far infrared version of the Sanctuary on a household outlet, and it takes an optional 300 W full-spectrum door heater later.

Check this before you order, because it decides whether you need an electrician. There are three tiers among these saunas.

Standard 15 A, 120 V outlet: the Dynamic Cordoba (1,750 W), the Maxxus MX-M206 and the Clearlight Premier IS-2 plug into an ordinary outlet. Keep other big loads off that circuit while the sauna runs.

Dedicated 120 V, 20 A circuit: the Sun Home Equinox 2 and 3 need their own 20 A GFCI circuit with a NEMA 5-20 outlet, and the Clearlight Sanctuary 2 uses a NEMA 5-20P plug at 18.75 A. Many homes have a 20 A circuit in a garage or laundry, but it has to be free of other loads.

240 V: the Clearlight Sanctuary 3 (NEMA 6-15P, 2,800 W), the Clearlight Sanctuary Outdoor 2 (2,480 W) and the Sun Home Luminar 2 (NEMA L6-20, 20 A GFCI) need a 240 V circuit, which in most homes means a new breaker and run from the panel. Get an electrician's quote before you buy.

An hour at full rated power is the most a session can cost: watts / 1,000 x your rate. At the 2025 U.S. average of 17.3 cents per kWh, that is about 30 cents for the 1,750 W Cordoba or Premier IS-2, 39 cents for the 2,250 W Sanctuary 2, 43 cents for the 2,480 W Sanctuary Outdoor 2 and 48 cents for the 2,800 W Sanctuary 3. A 120 V 20 A circuit cannot carry more than 2,400 W, so the Equinox stays under about 42 cents an hour.

Real sessions usually cost less, because heaters cycle once the cabin is warm. Four one-hour sessions a week in a Sanctuary 2 come to at most about $81 a year. Daily use of the Sanctuary 3 tops out near $177 a year. Use our cost-to-run calculator with your state's rate for your own number.

Purchase price is the real cost. The full-spectrum cabins here run from over $2,000 to about $11,599, plus an electrician for the 20 A and 240 V models.

Low EMF claims are hard to compare because makers measure at different distances, and some give no number at all. Maxxus lists under 2 mG at 2 to 3 in from the panels on its full-spectrum cedar models, versus under 8 mG at 6 to 8 in on its far infrared Seattle. Clearlight says EMF is virtually zero where you sit and that its saunas are shielded against ELF, without a number on the product page. Sun Home calls the Equinox ultra-low EMF.

When a maker gives a number, check the distance. A reading close to the panel is a stricter test than one a foot away. We do not measure EMF ourselves, so these are the makers' figures.

Indoor cabins need a level floor, about 2 in of clearance on each side if built into a space (Clearlight's figure), and a floor that takes the weight: 395 to 642 lb for the Clearlight and Sun Home indoor cabins, before people. Dynamic's warranty covers indoor use only.

Outdoor cabins have weatherproof shells and roof caps and need a level pad and an outdoor 240 V circuit. The Clearlight Sanctuary Outdoor 2 weighs 765 lb and needs 73.75 x 67.5 in with its roof cap. The Sun Home Luminar 2 adds more full-spectrum heat and a 170 F top temperature.