Red Light Sauna: Red Light vs Infrared vs Full Spectrum

A red light sauna is an infrared sauna with LED panels that shine visible red and near infrared light while the heaters warm the room. The built-in models on this page start at $6,599 (Sun Home Pod) and run past $10,000. Adding a sauna-rated panel to a sauna you already own costs $700 to $1,700.

By John VollUpdated Oct 28, 2026We may earn a commission from links

A woman standing beside a tall panel of red lights in a dark room — Photo: Nico Wagemans on Unsplash

This page covers what "red light sauna" means on a spec sheet, which saunas build it in, and the panels that add it to a sauna you already have. It makes no health claims. What red light does for your body is a question for your doctor, not a buying guide.

Red light vs near, far and full spectrum infrared

Term	What it means on a spec sheet	Where it comes from
Red light	Visible red, about 630 to 670 nm	LED panels or towers
Near infrared	Just past visible, 810 to 850 nm on most panels	LED panels; some sauna heaters
Far infrared	Longer wavelengths you feel as heat	Carbon or ceramic heater panels
Full spectrum	Heaters that cover near through far infrared	Full spectrum heater panels

The confusing part is that "infrared sauna" usually means far infrared heaters, which glow faintly or not at all. A red light sauna adds LED light on top of the heat. A full spectrum sauna changes the heaters, not the lighting. Sun Home sells both: the Equinox is full spectrum, the Eclipse is full spectrum plus red light towers.

Saunas with red light built in

Red light saunas, maker prices
Model	Price	What the price buys	Link
Sun Home Pod 1-Person Red Light Sauna	$6,599	Type: infrared heat plus red light, one person	View
Sunlighten Amplify RED II	$7,699	Heaters: 4 far infrared, 4 near infrared red light, 3 full spectrum	View
Sunlighten Amplify RED III	$8,599	Type: full spectrum plus red and near infrared	View
Sunlighten mPulse Believe	$8,899	Type: red, near, mid and far infrared, delivered separately	View
Sun Home Eclipse 2-Person Red Light Sauna	$9,999	Heaters: 6 far infrared, 2 full spectrum	View
Sunlighten Amplify RED IV	$10,299	Type: full spectrum plus red and near infrared	View
Sun Home Eclipse 4-Person Red Light Sauna	$12,999	Heaters: 12 far infrared, 4 full spectrum	View

Lowest listed configuration on each maker's store, checked Oct 28, 2026.

Sun Home Eclipse 2-Person Red Light Sauna

$9,999$10,599

Heaters: 6 far infrared, 2 full spectrum
Red light: 2 towers, 650 + 850 nm
Red light irradiance (Sun Home): 180 to 250 mW/cm² at 6 in
Top temperature: 165°F
Power: 120V, 2,820 W, dedicated GFCI circuit
Size: 51.5 × 47.2 × 76.7 in
Weight: 600 lb

The rare red light sauna that runs on 120V, though it wants its own GFCI circuit. Sun Home publishes the red light irradiance, which most sauna makers don't.

See it at Sun HomePrice at Sun Home, checked Oct 28, 2026

Sunlighten Amplify RED II

$7,699$8,899

Heaters: 4 far infrared, 4 near infrared red light, 3 full spectrum
Top temperature: up to 170°F, in ideal conditions (Sunlighten)
Power: 240V, 2,620 W, dedicated 20A circuit, NEMA 6-20
Exterior: 50.9 × 45.9 × 77.7 in
Weight: 562 lb

Needs 240V on a dedicated 20-amp circuit. The RED version costs $1,700 more than the plain Amplify II ($5,999), which has the same full spectrum and halogen heat without the red light.

See it at SunlightenPrice at Sunlighten, checked Oct 28, 2026

Sunlighten's mPulse line (from $8,899) is its top model. Sunlighten says it delivers red, near, mid and far infrared separately, with programs, rather than all at once. The Sunlighten review covers the whole lineup, and the best infrared sauna list compares cabins without red light.

Adding red light to a sauna you own

A panel is the cheaper route if you already have a sauna. The catch is heat: most red light panels are rated for a normal room. These are built for a sauna:

Sauna-rated red light panels
Model	Price	What the price buys	Link
Hooga Ember Sauna Panel	$700	Wavelengths: 630, 660, 810, 850 nm	View
PlatinumLED SaunaMAX Pro	$959	Wavelengths: 480, 630, 660, 810, 830, 850 nm	View
Hooga Blaze Sauna Panel	$1,400	Wavelengths: 630, 660, 810, 850 nm	View
Plunge Red Light Therapy Panel	$1,490	built for the Plunge Infrared Sauna Pro door; also hangs on any door	View
Sun Home Luminar Red Light Tower (add-on)	$1,699	fits the Luminar 2 and 5 outdoor saunas only	View

Lowest listed configuration on each maker's store, checked Oct 28, 2026.

Hooga Ember Sauna Panel

$700

Wavelengths: 630, 660, 810, 850 nm
Irradiance (Hooga): 111 mW/cm² at 6 in
Power: 180 W, 100 to 240V
Size: 20.1 × 12 × 2.2 in
Weight: 15.4 lb
Heat rating: IP65, to 194°F

The highest heat rating here (194°F) and the lowest price. The Blaze is the same design at twice the LEDs and size.

See it at HoogaPrice at Hooga, checked Oct 28, 2026

The Plunge panel is designed for the door of the Plunge Infrared Sauna Pro, and Sun Home's tower fits only its Luminar outdoor saunas. For panels outside a sauna, the red light therapy panel guide compares panels from four brands.

What to check before you buy

Heat rating: a panel inside a sauna needs a rating above the sauna's top temperature where it hangs.
Circuit: the Eclipse 2 runs on 120V; the Amplify RED and Eclipse 4 need 240V. See the electrical guide.
What the price buys: compare the red light model against the same sauna without it. At Sunlighten the gap is $1,700.
Published numbers: wavelengths are easy to compare; irradiance figures are not, because makers measure them differently.

If you are buying an infrared sauna anyway and want red light, the Amplify RED II is the cheaper 2 person route; the Eclipse 2 is the one for a 120V room. If you already own a sauna, a Hooga Ember at $700 is a fraction of the price of a new cabin. Unsure about infrared at all? Read infrared vs traditional.

Common questions

Is red light the same as infrared?

No. Red light is visible, at about 630 to 670 nm on the spec sheets here. Near infrared starts just past what you can see (the panels use 810 to 850 nm). Far infrared, the kind most infrared sauna heaters make, is longer still, and you feel it as heat rather than see it.

What is a full spectrum infrared sauna?

A sauna whose heaters put out near, mid and far infrared. Sun Home describes its True Wave heaters as supplying all three. A full spectrum sauna is not automatically a red light sauna: red light comes from separate LED panels or towers.

Can you put a red light panel in a regular sauna?

Only one built for the heat. Hooga rates its Ember and Blaze panels to 194°F with IP65 sealed housings, and PlatinumLED rates the SaunaMAX Pro to 150°F. A standard panel is built for room temperature. A traditional sauna can run hotter than 150°F at the ceiling, so check the rating against where you would mount it.

Red light therapy vs infrared sauna: which should I buy?

They are different products. An infrared sauna heats you; a red light panel shines light and barely warms the room. If you want both, a red light sauna or a sauna-rated panel puts them in one place. This site compares specs and prices and does not cover what either does for your body.

How much does a red light sauna cost?

On Oct 28, 2026: Sun Home Pod (1 person) $6,599, Sunlighten Amplify RED II (2 person) $7,699, Sunlighten mPulse Believe $8,899, Sun Home Eclipse 2 $9,999. A sauna-rated panel for an existing sauna is $700 to $1,400 from Hooga or $959 from PlatinumLED.

Sources

Prices and specs are from each maker's own product page on the date shown next to them. Prices change; the store is always right and we may be out of date.