Our methodology
Cedar Scout compares home saunas using the specs their sellers publish. This page explains exactly how, including what we can't check.
What Cedar Scout does
We collect each sauna's published price, size, heating, wiring, warranty and features from the seller's own listing, link every figure to its source, and run the same rules over all 149 saunas. Our tools then check fit, power and five-year cost against your home.
Three kinds of score, kept separate
- Spec score (out of 100). Shown on every sauna page. It rates the published specs against similar saunas at our default weights. It's the same for every visitor.
- Finder match score. Shown in your finder results. It measures how well a sauna fits your answers: budget 20, physical fit 20, sauna type 20, electrical ease 15, your priorities 15, and warranty and evidence 10.
- Matchup score. Shown in Sauna Matchup. The same specs as the spec score, weighted the way you choose.
How the spec score is built
- Construction. Published wall thickness only: ½ in scores 0 and 1½ in or more scores 10. Wood species isn't scored.
- Value. The other category scores per $1,000 of price, placed on a 2 to 10 scale against similar saunas.
- Heating. Infrared: full spectrum 10, far infrared 8, plus published top temperature. Traditional and hybrid: published top temperature and heater power per seat.
- Warranty. Cabinet warranty years, averaged with heater years where given. Lifetime counts as 10 years.
- Installation. Standard outlet, then a dedicated 120V circuit, then 240V, then hardwired, scored against similar saunas so traditional saunas aren't marked down for needing 240V.
- Space. Seats against group size, and floor area per seat.
- Features and appearance. Not scored. A longer feature list isn't a better sauna, and we won't rate looks without seeing a sauna.
What "similar saunas" means
Saunas are compared within their kind: infrared, or traditional and hybrid, split by indoor and outdoor where there are enough of each. Since v1.3, made-to-order designer saunas sit in a separate luxury class. They're compared only with each other, so a $75,000 cabin can't move a $5,000 kit's value score. They don't appear in the finder, the home page picks or our shortlists, and their scores can't be compared with scores outside the class. See the luxury guide.
How we verify specs
Every figure comes from the seller's or maker's own page and links to it, with the date we read it. When two of a seller's pages disagree, we use the more cautious figure and say so. See our sources.
How missing specs are handled
A figure that isn't published is shown as not published. We never estimate a spec. If at least half of similar saunas publish a figure and one doesn't, that category scores zero for it, so a sauna can't rank higher by publishing less. If fewer than half publish it, the category is left out and its weight is shared among the others.
How information is updated
Prices, stock and specs are re-read from seller pages and dated on every page. Errors are fixed under our corrections policy. Changes to the scoring rules are dated in the public change log under How we rank on the home page.
What we don't test
We haven't tested any of these saunas in person. We don't publish star ratings, durability ratings, owner reviews or health claims. Electrical notes are preliminary, and a licensed electrician must confirm what your home can support.
How commission works
Cedar Scout may earn a commission when you buy through affiliate links. Today all of the 149 saunas we list link to SaunaKits.com or Topture, retailers whose affiliate programs we've joined. Every purchase link is labeled, and commissions never change our scores or rankings. The scoring code can't read commission data, and an automated test proves that changing any commission moves no result. See the affiliate disclosure.
Independent by design. We order saunas with our published method. Cedar Scout may earn a commission when you buy through affiliate links on this page. Commissions never change which saunas appear, their scores or their order. How we earn money.