Guide

Barrel, cube or cabin sauna: which shape?

How the main garden sauna shapes differ in space, heating and price, using the models we list.

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A barrel is usually the cheapest way to seat four. A cube or cabin uses a small garden better and gives more headroom. A cabin with a changing room costs the most.

Barrel: round, so there is less air to heat, and the curved planks swell tight as they warm. Sits on curved supports on a level base. Length sets the size: 1.6 m to 4 m in our list.
Cube or pod: square or rounded box, often with a glass front. Easier to fit against a fence, but check the height within 2 m of a boundary.
Cabin or house: a small timber building, often with a porch or changing room. Thicker walls (up to 70 mm) and more to assemble.

The garden sauna table filters by shape.

Common worries

"My garden's too small."

The smallest garden saunas we list take 1.20 × 1.20 m, about the size of a garden shed. No garden at all? Infrared cabins fit in a spare room, and a cold plunge needs less than a metre square. Saunas for small spaces →

"Won't it rot in the British weather?"

Choose or , keep it off the ground on a level base and treat the outside once a year. We allow £150 a year for that. Warranties on the saunas we list run up to 10 years on the cabin. How long a garden sauna lasts →

All ten sauna worries