A single visit to a sauna usually costs $35 to $50, and monthly plans at the 18 places that list one start at about $99 (median). Those are the middle of the real prices we found on the websites of 98 bathhouses and sauna studios in our directory, as of October 2026. Where you go matters more than anything else: a typical visit in New York costs about $20 more than one in Seattle.
If you already pay for a gym, you may not need either. Many gyms include a sauna in the regular membership, which is usually the cheapest way to sauna often.
Since October 2026 we have been checking our highest-ranked listings against each place's own website and recording what it says it charges. So far, 90 places list a regular single-visit price and 18 list a monthly membership.
For each place we took the lowest regular adult price for one visit. Off-peak prices count. First-visit deals, member rates, senior and child prices and one-day specials don't. We left out private rooms priced per group, mobile sauna rentals, and men-only clubs that charge a small membership plus a locker or room fee, because those prices don't compare with a single entry.
The checks started with bathhouses and sauna studios in big metros, so gyms, day spas and hotel spas aren't in these numbers yet.
| Type of place | Places with a price | Typical single visit | Middle half of prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bathhouse (Korean spa, banya, modern bathhouse) | 44 | $42.50 | $35 to $50 |
| Traditional or social sauna (studio or pop-up) | 26 | $35 | $31 to $38 |
| Infrared sauna studio | 18 | $47 | $36 to $50 |
| All places | 90 | $39.50 | $35 to $49 |
"Typical" is the median: half the places charge less, half charge more. All 90 includes two studios whose rooms we couldn't put in one group.
Bathhouses cost a bit more, but you usually get more for it. One ticket covers several heat rooms, often pools and a cold plunge, and you can stay for hours. Spa World in Centreville, Virginia, charges $45 for 12 hours in a row. K Spa in Buena Park, near Los Angeles, charges $35 with a 6-hour limit. Lake Steam in Denver sells a $32 day pass with no time limit. At the top end, Spa Castle in Queens is $85 Monday to Thursday and $110 Friday to Sunday.
Social saunas, the kind where you book a 60 to 90 minute seat in a shared wood-fired or electric sauna, are the cheapest group. Most charge $30 to $40. Fyre Sauna in Redmond, near Seattle, is $35 for a 60-minute community session, Fulton Sauna in Minneapolis is $35, and Garden Sauna Denver is $33 for an hour of unlimited sauna and cold plunge.
Infrared studios usually sell a private session of 40 to 60 minutes in a cabin or pod for one or two people. That privacy is why they cost more per visit. Most charge $36 to $50, such as $45 for a solo session at INFRARED Sauna Studios in Los Alamitos, California. Some studios sell a cheaper pod session next to the cabin. For more on booking a room to yourself, see our private sauna guide.
Of the 18 places that list a monthly price, the median starting price is $99 a month, and most of these are sauna studios. The lowest starts at $30 a month at The Studio on Central in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the highest is $277 for unlimited infrared sessions at Burbank Infrared Sauna.
"Membership" means two different things, so read what's included:
A quick way to decide: divide the monthly price by the single-visit price. At TerraForm, $99 ÷ $35 is under 3, so the unlimited plan pays off from the third visit in a month. If you'll only go once or twice, pay as you go.
Many places that don't sell memberships sell packs, which bring the price down without a monthly charge. Ten visits cost $300 at Riviera Health Spa in Torrance, California, $310 at Washington Baths in Portland, Maine, and $350 at 612 Sauna Cooperative in Minneapolis, so $30 to $35 a visit.
First visits are often cheap. At the three Glow Sauna Studios locations we checked, a first infrared cabin session is $25 instead of the usual $45, and some studios sell an intro week of unlimited visits for under $100. Those are a good way to try a place before you commit to a plan.
At bathhouses, entry usually covers every heat room and pool, and often towels and a locker. Chicago Bath House includes robes, towels and slippers in its $50 day admission. Onsen SF includes a robe, towel and sandals in its $50, two-hour visit.
Time limits vary a lot. Beverly Hot Springs in Los Angeles allows 2 hours, Kabuki Springs & Spa in San Francisco books 2.5-hour slots, and some Korean spas let you stay 12 hours. Studios almost always sell a fixed slot.
Treatments cost extra. A platza (the oak-leaf treatment at Russian and Turkish bathhouses) is $50 at Chicago Bath House and $60 at Wall Street Bath & Spa in New York. Some bathhouses lower or waive the entry fee when you book a massage: Kabuki's communal baths are $49, or $20 with a spa service.
Of the metros where we have prices from at least five places, New York is the most expensive.
Other metros have too few checked prices to call a typical number yet. Outside the metros, the cheapest entry we found was $10 for an all-day pass at Franklin Hot Springs, a hot springs and lake in Paso Robles, California, and $20.25 for up to two hours in a private sauna room at Duluth Family Sauna in Minnesota.
If you want to sauna several times a week, a gym membership with a sauna can cost less than a sauna membership, and you get the gym too. Our directory lists 1,103 gyms and health clubs with a sauna or steam room. At chains like LA Fitness, the sauna is in the locker rooms and comes with a standard membership. Planet Fitness is the well-known exception: it has no saunas.
Many YMCAs have a sauna too, but it varies by branch, so check which YMCAs have a sauna before you join.
A gym sauna is usually a small room shared by everyone in that locker room. If you want several heat rooms, a cold plunge or a social sauna, a bathhouse or studio is worth the higher price.
Search bathhouses or sauna studios near you. When we've checked a listing's prices, they appear in the Pricing section of its page with the date we checked. Prices change often, so confirm on the place's own website or booking page before you go.
Most cost $35 to $50 for one visit. Across 90 US bathhouses and sauna studios we checked in October 2026, the median was $39.50, with social saunas cheapest (about $35) and infrared studios most expensive (about $47).
Entry-level plans start at about $99 a month at the places we checked. Among 18 places that list a monthly price, plans ran from $30 to $277, and many cover a set number of visits (often 4) rather than unlimited use.
It is if you go often. Divide the monthly price by the single-visit price: if you'll go more times than that each month, the membership is cheaper.
A gym or YMCA that includes a sauna in its membership is usually cheapest. Among dedicated sauna places, punch cards and social saunas bring the cost down to about $30 a visit.
Many bathhouses include towels and a locker in the entry price, and some include a robe and sandals. Studios vary, so check the booking page.
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