Sauna vs steam room: which is better for you?

Most spas have both, often side by side, and plenty of people pick one at random. They're very different rooms. One is hot and dry, the other cooler and dripping wet, and they suit different people.

The main difference

Both rooms warm you up until you sweat. The difference is the water in the air.

In a sauna, a stove heats rocks and the rocks heat the air. The air is dry, so your sweat evaporates and cools you a little, which is why you can sit in 80 °C or more for a while. In a Finnish sauna you can throw water on the stones for a short wave of steam called löyly, but the room dries out again within a minute or two.

In a steam room, a generator pumps in steam until the air is saturated. Sweat can't evaporate in air that wet, so your body can't cool itself as well. That's why steam rooms are kept far cooler than saunas and still feel very hot. The walls are tiled or stone rather than wood, and everything drips.

Side by side

Skin

Steam rooms win on how your skin feels straight afterwards. The moist heat softens the top layer of skin and leaves it looking flushed and dewy, which is partly why hammams pair steam with scrubbing. The effect wears off within hours, though. There's no good evidence that either room clears acne or slows ageing.

If you have dry or easily irritated skin, a sauna can leave it feeling tight. Moisturise afterwards, or try the steam room instead.

Breathing and colds

Many people find steam easier to breathe when their nose is blocked, the same way a hot shower helps. The relief lasts as long as you're in the steam. It doesn't treat a cold. Others find thick steam hard to breathe and prefer the dry air of a sauna. Try both and see which suits you.

Whichever you choose, stay out when you have a fever. Heat on top of a fever puts extra strain on your body.

Heart and long-term health

If health is the main reason you go, the sauna has the stronger case. Large Finnish studies following thousands of people for decades link frequent sauna use to lower rates of heart disease, stroke and dementia. Steam rooms simply haven't been studied that way, so we don't know whether they do the same. The heat stress is similar, but the research isn't there. Read more in sauna benefits: what the research actually says.

Muscles and recovery

Both rooms warm your muscles and can make you feel looser after exercise. There's no clear winner. Go with whichever you find more relaxing, and drink water either way, since you'll sweat heavily in both.

Hygiene

Warm, wet rooms are good for bacteria and fungi, so steam rooms need more care. A well-run spa cleans them several times a day. Your part: shower before you go in, sit on a towel and wear flip-flops on the way. Saunas are drier and so harder for germs to live in, but sitting on a towel is still the rule. Our guide to what to wear in a sauna has more.

Using both in one visit

There's no fixed rule, but a common order is:

1. Start in the steam room for 10–15 minutes to warm up gently.
2. Cool off with a shower and rest for a few minutes.
3. Move to the sauna for a round of 8–15 minutes.
4. Cool down again, with a cold plunge if there is one, and drink water.

Two or three rounds in total is plenty for most people. See how long to stay in a sauna for timings and warning signs.

A Turkish hammam and a Russian banya are close relatives of the steam room, both built around humid heat. An infrared sauna sits at the other end of the scale: gentle dry heat with no steam at all. Read what is an infrared sauna for how it compares.

Where to find a steam room

Find My Sauna lists 1,564 places with a steam room. These cities have the most:

Flamingo Spa & saunamaailma

Helsinki · Saunas and steam rooms

Rudas Gyógyfürdő és Uszoda

Budapest · Thermal bath with steam

Sofiebadet

Copenhagen · Historic bathhouse

Frequently asked questions