The tool
What it actually costs to run
The sticker price is the smallest part of owning a sauna or cold plunge. A traditional sauna can cost four times more per session than an infrared one; a chiller runs whether you plunge for two minutes or ten. Put in how you'll actually use it and your own electricity rate, and see the real cost.
US residential average is ~$0.19/kWh, change it to your rate for a real number.
Chiller cost is driven by cooldown and standby across the day, not your minutes in the water, so plunging more often barely moves the bill.
Estimate based on typical power draw and your inputs. Real cost varies with insulation, ambient temperature, and standby behavior.
Now the part the price tag leaves out
Running cost is only the last of four numbers. The sticker is the one every brand publishes; delivery, the electrical work and years of electricity are the three that decide what you actually pay. Pick a real product and see all four at once.
The electrical figure is yours to set and is an estimate, not a quote: a dedicated 240V circuit commonly runs from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand depending on how far the run is from your panel. Get a real quote before you buy a hardwired unit.
That is $7 a session across 1040 sessions. A studio charges $30 to $60 for one.
Check the current price at Sweat Kingdom →Unit price is live from the retailer and delivery is their published policy. Electrical and running figures are estimates from your own inputs, and real running cost varies with insulation, ambient temperature and standby behavior. Delivery is not the whole groundwork bill: a level pad or footing is extra.
Unit prices are live from the retailer and are the from-price, which on the two traditional saunas here is the shell WITHOUT a heater, so add the heater package you choose to every total below. The running cost still assumes you fitted one, because a sauna with no heater has no running cost at all. Delivery is what each merchant publishes: Sweat Kingdom states "All modular sauna orders ship at a flat rate of $450, regardless of your location within the contiguous United States." and Plunge Chill states "Shipping is free across the USA main land (unless otherwise stated at checkout).", both re-read 2026-08-19. The electrical figure is yours, because we cannot know what an electrician charges where you live, and a level pad or footing is a further cost on top of delivery.
Three worked examples
Rough figures at the US average rate, before you plug in your own. The pattern is the point: heat cost tracks the heater, plunge cost tracks the chiller, not your minutes in the water.
Infrared cabin, 2 person
$0.15
per session
~$5 / month
1.6kW panels, four 30-minute sessions a week. The cheapest heat to run.
Traditional barrel, 6kW
$1.10
per session
~$18 / month
A hot 240V heater plus heat-up time, four sessions a week. The ritual costs more.
Chiller cold plunge, daily
$0.50
per session
~$15 / month
The chiller holds temperature around the clock, so daily use barely moves the bill.
How we work it out
Saunas cost roughly their heater power (in kW) multiplied by the hours it runs, including a heat-up allowance before you get in. Infrared units draw 1.5 to 2 kW and heat fast; traditional electric heaters draw 6 to 8 kW and take longer, which is where the cost gap comes from.
Cold plunges are different: the electricity goes into the chiller, which cools the water down and then holds it there around the clock. Because standby and cooldown dominate, plunging more often barely changes the bill, the cost is mostly about keeping the water cold, not your minutes in it.
These are estimates from typical power figures and your inputs. Real numbers move with insulation, ambient temperature, water volume, and how aggressively a chiller cycles, which is exactly why we measure draw at the plug on the units we test, and publish it on each review.
US residential electricity averages about $0.19/kWh but ranges from about $0.11 (some Midwest and South states) to $0.30 or more (California, New England, Hawaii), so use your own rate for a figure you can trust.
What to do with that number
If the five year figure looks manageable, the next question is which unit, and the honest answer depends on where it is going. If it looks like too much, that is a useful answer too, and the cheap way in is worth a look before you rule the whole thing out.