Aleko Aris 2 person thermowood outdoor sauna in a mountain field at sunset with a flat black roof and smoked glass door

October 23, 2026 Kristin Bullock

Sauna vs. Steam Room: Which One Should You Buy?

Short answer: a sauna uses dry heat at 150 to 195 degrees Fahrenheit from a wood or electric stove. A steam room uses wet heat at a lower 110 to 120 degrees, generated by a boiler piping steam into a sealed, tiled room. For a backyard install, that difference matters more than the health debate, because a sauna is a structure you can buy today and a steam room is a plumbing and waterproofing project.

Owner's Insights

I sell outdoor saunas. I do not sell residential steam generators, so let me say that before anything else, the same way I would if you asked me in person.

Almost every backyard "sauna vs steam room" question I get is really someone deciding between a sauna they could buy and install this season versus a steam room they would have to build. That is not an apples-to-apples choice, and I think the honest comparison makes that clear fast.

Sauna vs. Steam Room: Quick Feature Comparison

Feature	Sauna	Steam room
Heat type	Dry heat from a wood or electric stove	Wet heat, close to 100% humidity, from a steam generator
Temperature	150 to 195°F	110 to 120°F
Construction	Prebuilt cedar or pine structure, delivered and sited	Custom-built, sealed, waterproofed room with a generator and drain
Typical use case	Outdoor backyard install, barrel or cabin shape	Indoor, usually tied to a bathroom renovation
Install timeline	Delivered and sited in a day once the pad and circuit are ready	A construction project measured in weeks
Strongest reported benefit	Deep sweating, cardiovascular research, heat-shock response	Respiratory and sinus relief, skin hydration
Price at our store	$4,999.95 to $11,995.95, delivered	We don't sell these; budget for a full bathroom-grade build

Temperature and humidity ranges here match what university recreation departments and sauna manufacturers publish. None of this is medical advice.

What a Sauna Does Best

A sauna is a product, not a renovation. Every one I carry arrives built, gets sited on a pad, and runs off one dedicated electrical circuit. You can have it in the yard and working inside a season, which is not something I can say about a steam room.

The heat itself also does different work. Dry heat at 150 to 195 degrees is what the long-running Finnish cardiovascular research is built around, and it is the heat most people picture when they imagine a backyard wellness setup. See the sizes and prices here.

Aleko Aris 2 Person Thermowood Outdoor Sauna for Couples, angled exterior view in a mountain field at sunset showing the flat black roof, thermally treated wood siding and two-panel smoked glass door

What a Steam Room Does Best

Humidity is the whole point of a steam room, and it genuinely does things a dry sauna cannot: loosening congestion, hydrating skin, and giving a gentler heat experience at a lower temperature for people who find a sauna's dry blast too intense.

The tradeoff is that a steam room is a sealed, waterproofed, tiled space with a boiler and a drain, which makes it a construction project rather than a delivered product. That is a real option for an indoor bathroom remodel. It is not something I can ship to your backyard.

Sauna vs. Steam Room: Quick Decision Summary

Buy a sauna if you want a backyard structure you can order and have running this season, you prefer dry heat, or an electrician and a pad are the only construction you want to deal with.

Build a steam room if you are already renovating an indoor bathroom, you specifically want humidity and respiratory relief, and you have the budget and timeline for a custom waterproofed build.

For a backyard upgrade this winter, a sauna is the realistic choice, and it is the one I can actually help you with.

FAQ

Is a sauna or steam room better after a workout?

Both are used for recovery, but they work differently. Dry sauna heat is tied to the larger body of cardiovascular research; steam's humidity is better documented for respiratory relief and skin hydration. Neither claim here is medical advice.

Can you build a steam room outdoors?

Technically yes, but it needs the same sealed, waterproofed construction as an indoor one plus weatherproofing on top of that, which makes it a much larger project than an outdoor sauna. It is not something available as a delivered product the way a sauna is.

Do you sell steam room generators?

No. I sell outdoor saunas. If a steam room is specifically what you want, that is a contractor and plumbing project, not something I can ship.

Which is cheaper, a sauna or a steam room?

A sauna, by a wide margin. Ours start at $4,999.95 delivered, needing only a pad and an electrician's circuit. A steam room is a custom build with a generator, waterproofing, and a drain, which runs well past that before the tile goes in.