The 3 person sauna: how much room you get, and what the third seat costs

The 3 person sauna is the biggest size group in our range: 42 models, from $2,799 to $19,099. 27 of them are infrared cabins about five feet wide, and all but one of those run on a single dedicated 120V/20A circuit. The other 15 heat with a stove on 240V, and eleven of those are built to stand outdoors.

A three-seater is also where the requirements change. Compared with a two-person cabin it takes about another foot of wall and a bigger circuit, and with three adults inside, each still gets about the floor space of a one-person sauna. The numbers below come from each model's published specifications. To browse instead, every model here is in our 3-4 person sauna collection.

What "3 person" means in floor space

The capacity on a sauna spec sheet is the number of adults the bench seats side by side. The interior width tells you how that will feel: a 57″ interior shared three ways is 19″ each.

Here is every infrared three-seater whose maker publishes the interior, tightest first, with the floor divided by three. For comparison, the inside of our smallest one-person sauna, the Dynamic Sicily, is 32″ by 24″, about 5.3 square feet.

Calculated from the manufacturer's published interior width and depth. The Maxxus S-Line Elite does not publish its interior.

Three adults fit in every one of these, sitting close. Two people get room to sit back and stretch out. If three adults will use it together most evenings, the Avignon corner cabin or one of the stove-heated cabins further down gives each person noticeably more space: those run from 17.8 to 27.8 square feet inside.

Two seats, three or four: one line, three sizes

Dynamic's Low EMF hemlock line comes in all three sizes, which makes a fair side-by-side.

Manufacturer's published specifications. The Lugano and Bergamo roofs overhang the depth by 4.3″. Prices update live from each product page.

Going from the Cordoba to the Lugano adds 14″ of width and $600 at today's prices. With all seats taken, three people in the Lugano get about the same floor each as two people in the Cordoba.

The bigger change is the wiring. The two-person cabin needs its own 15 amp circuit. The three-person cabin needs its own 20 amp circuit, and that's true of every three-person infrared cabin we sell but one. If a free 20 amp circuit isn't already where the sauna will stand, plan on an electrician.

Once that circuit is in, the four-person Bergamo runs on the same 20 amps. It's 10″ wider than the Lugano and costs $600 more. With four inside, each person gets less room than in either smaller cabin. Our 2-person vs 4-person guide covers sizing for how you'll actually use it, and the Lugano review goes through that cabin in detail.

The circuit each type needs

These are the manufacturer's requirements, printed in the "Electrical service" line on every product page. The infrared owner's manuals put it on the cover: "120VAC 20AMP Dedicated Circuit Required."

Against a wall, or into a corner

Most three-seaters are rectangles: 55 to 64″ wide, 41 to 45″ deep and 74 to 75″ tall, and several add a roof overhang of about 4 to 6″ to the depth. They stand against a wall.

Three are built for a corner. The Maxxus Avignon and its full-spectrum twin take 60″ by 60″ (the roof adds 9.4″ to the depth), and the Golden Designs Reserve Corner takes 54″ by 54″. A corner model uses a square of floor that a rectangle can't, and the Avignon's 56″ by 56″ is the largest interior of any infrared three-seater we sell.

The infrared cabins weigh 300 to 505 lb assembled and most ship in three boxes as finished panels that clasp together. Every infrared manual calls for at least two adults to assemble it. The Lugano lists a Phillips screwdriver and a ladder as the tools.

Infrared, traditional or hybrid for three

Infrared cabins warm you with carbon panels behind and around the bench, at lower air temperatures. Where the maker publishes a range, 118 to 132°F is ideal and 140°F is the most they reach. The Lugano manual puts preheating at "approximately twenty to thirty minutes" to reach about 118°F.

The panels come in three EMF tiers, each measured 2 to 3″ from the panel: Low (5 to 10 mG), Ultra Low (3 to 5 mG) and Near Zero (under 3 mG). Maxxus states under 2 mG for the Bellevue Near Zero. The two Maxxus Dual Tech cabins mix ceramic and carbon heaters, and the full-spectrum versions add near-infrared elements to the carbon panels. Our guides to low-EMF saunas, full spectrum vs far infrared and carbon vs ceramic heaters explain the differences.

Most infrared three-seaters are Canadian hemlock. Maxxus also builds the Montilemar and the Avignon in cedar. At today's prices the cedar Montilemar costs $1,400 more than the hemlock one with the same seven Low EMF heaters, and it gets a touch-screen control panel as well. The cedar vs hemlock guide covers what the wood changes.

The traditional models heat the air with a stove and stones: 8 kW on most, 6 kW on the Andermatt. They list 170 to 185°F as ideal and reach 190°F, and each comes with a bucket, scoop and sandglass. The hybrids pair the stove with full-spectrum emitters (8 to 11 of them), so one cabin can run a gentler infrared session or full stove heat. Our hybrid sauna guide covers who they suit.

Indoors or outdoors, and what it sits on

• The infrared cabins are indoor only. Their warranty reads: "Placing your sauna outdoors will VOID this warranty."
• The Andermatt, Copenhagen and Forssa traditional cabins are rated for indoor or covered exterior use. The Soria hybrid's warranty covers indoor use, or outdoor use inside a structure with a waterproof roof.
• Eleven are built for outdoor use: the Arlberg and Arlberg Flat Roof, the Carinthia and Carinthia Flat Roof, the Savonlinna barn, the Loviisa barn in four finishes, the Drammen and the Visby.

The Arlberg, Carinthia, Savonlinna, Loviisa, Drammen and Visby manuals all ask for a surface that is "level/dry and can support the weight of the sauna and its occupants," and they're specific about the base:

Assembled, the outdoor three-seaters weigh 560 lb (Arlberg Flat Roof) to 1,325 lb (Loviisa). The manuals call for three adults to put up the Arlberg, Carinthia, Drammen and Visby, and four for the Savonlinna and Loviisa barns. Our barrel, cabin or barn guide compares the outdoor shapes.

Every stove-heated 3 person sauna, measured

All Golden Designs. Dimensions, heater counts and electrical service are the manufacturer's published specifications. Every 240V circuit listed is dedicated, and "120V outlet" is a 15 amp outlet for the lights and music. *The Arlberg and Carinthia measure 84.1″ × 73.6″ including the roof overhang; the Savonlinna and the original Loviisa add 4″ to the depth. Inside floor is calculated from the published interior width and depth. Prices update live from each product page.

Which 3 person sauna to choose

Six good starting points, depending on what matters most to you. Prices shown are the current price on each product page.

To compare all of them side by side, see the 3-4 person collection, or browse by heat: infrared, traditional or hybrid.

The warranty, by heat type

Golden Designs makes every sauna in this guide (it also owns the Dynamic and Maxxus brands), and the written warranty depends on how the sauna heats.

• Infrared: the wood, structure, heating elements and electronics are covered "for a period of 1 to 5 years from the original date of purchase," for indoor use only.
• Traditional: a Limited Lifetime Warranty on "the sauna room and its attached electronics." The stove is excluded, "as it is covered by its own manufacturer warranty."
• Hybrid: the warranty is also headed Limited Lifetime, and its asterisk defines that as "5 years on wood structure (when properly maintained), control panel, and applicable control panel harnesses and lights from the date of purchase." On the two Carinthia models the 5 years applies to residential use and commercial use gets 1 year; the Soria's reads 1 year on the wood structure and 5 years on the control panel. The stove is covered by its own maker.

All three cover parts but not labor, apply to the original purchaser at the original site of installation, and end on owner transfer or relocation. For service, Golden Designs tells owners to contact their authorized dealer, which for a sauna bought here means calling us. The full text is on every product page and on our Golden Designs warranty page.

Send us your measurements, a photo of the spot and what's spare in your electrical panel, and we'll tell you which three-seaters fit and what the circuit will need.