Choose a barrel sauna if you want a compact, quick-heating sauna for two to four people with the roof already included. Choose a cabin if you want upright walls, windows, a changing area or room for a family, and you have the space and budget for a roof covering and a slightly bigger base.
Both are proper Finnish-style saunas with a heater, wooden benches and a toughened glass door. The difference is the shape, and the shape changes how the sauna heats, how many people fit, how it looks in the garden and what else you need to buy.
Barrel and cabin side by side
| Barrel sauna | Cabin sauna | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Round, oval or rounded cube | Upright log or panel walls, flat or single-pitch roof |
| Heat | Less air to heat; hot air rolls around the curved walls | More air to heat; good for higher benches and bigger groups |
| Size | 0.9 to 3.0m² steam rooms | 1.5 to 8.2m² steam rooms, sauna houses up to 12.8m² |
| Changing area | Small changing area on bigger models | Changing area, dressing room, canopy or garden room options |
| Roof | Shingles included | Roof covering bought separately (felt, SBS or EPDM) |
| Windows | Glass door, optional glass end wall | Windows, glass doors, some with glazed fronts |
| Height | 2.06 to 2.25m | 2.24 to 2.61m |
| Prices with us | £2,390 to £6,490 | £2,490 to £10,250 |
Why choose a barrel sauna
- Efficient heat. The round shape means less air to heat than a box of the same floor area, and the hot air circulates along the curve.
- Everything included except the heater. Barrels come with roof shingles and their own foundation joists, so the extras are simpler.
- Low and neat. At 2.06 to 2.25m high they sit well under the 2.5m limit for outbuildings near a boundary in England.
- The look. A barrel reads as a sauna straight away, which many people love.
The trade-offs. Benches follow the curve, so tall people have less headroom at the edges, and space is tighter. The smallest barrels have no changing area, so on a wet winter evening you undress indoors and walk down the garden.
Our barrels: the Fjell (0.9, 1.3 + 0.7 or 1.6 + 0.7m², glass front and thermowood options, from £2,390), the oval Skog (3.0 + 1.5m², from £5,250) and the cube-shaped Lys (1.1 to 2.0m², 2.08m high, from £2,590).
Why choose a cabin sauna
- Room to sit properly. Upright walls mean full headroom and benches you can lie on.
- A changing area. Many cabins have a separate room or a covered canopy, which makes winter sessions far more comfortable.
- Light and views. Windows and glazed doors, and on modern cabins like the Stille and Lumi, big panes of tinted glass.
- Finishes. Factory-painted options on the Kota, Hytte and Stille, so it matches the house.
The trade-offs. A bigger room takes longer to heat and usually needs a bigger heater. Roof covering is extra, and cabins need a level base under the whole footprint. The tallest models are over 2.5m, which matters near a boundary (see below).
Our cabins run from the compact Kota (2.6 or 4.1m², from £2,490) and log-built Hytte (4.1m², from £3,990) to the insulated Tind and Lumi Large, and sauna houses with extra rooms: Stuga, Bastu and Vik.
Which suits you?
| If you want... | Look at |
|---|---|
| A sauna for two on a modest budget | Fjell 0.9m² barrel or Kota 2.6m² cabin |
| Four people and a changing area | Fjell 1.3 or 1.6 + 0.7m² barrel, or the Skog oval barrel |
| Something low near a fence | Fjell 0.9 (2.06m) or Lys (2.08m) |
| Year-round use with somewhere warm to change | Stuga with dressing room, Lumi with changing area, or Bastu |
| A modern look with big glass | Stille, Lumi or Tind |
| A sauna plus a garden room or home gym | Vik (sliding glass doors) or Bastu (three rooms) |
Planning and height
In England an outbuilding within 2m of a boundary must be no more than 2.5m high to count as permitted development. Every barrel we sell is well under that. Most cabins are 2.24 to 2.50m, but the Tind (2.54m) and Bastu (2.61m) need to sit more than 2m from the boundary. A wood-burning heater adds a chimney above the roof. Read more in Planning permission for garden saunas and hot tubs.
Heater and running costs
Neither type comes with a heater. Small barrels such as the Fjell 0.9 suit the Narvi Minex 3.6kW; most others take a 6 or 9kW electric heater or, on many models, the Harvia WKM3 wood-burning set. A smaller room heats faster and costs less to run, which is part of the barrel's appeal: a 3.6kW heater uses about £1.42 of electricity for a two-hour session at the October 2026 price cap, against about £2.37 for 6kW. The full breakdown is in our garden sauna buying guide.
Common questions
Are barrel saunas better than cabin saunas?
Neither is better outright. A barrel heats a smaller volume and includes its roof, so it is efficient and simple for two to four people. A cabin gives more room, headroom and a changing area, which suits families and winter use.
Do barrel saunas need a roof covering?
Our barrels (Fjell, Skog and Lys) come with roof shingles. Cabins and sauna houses need a roof covering bought separately.
How many people fit in a barrel sauna?
Palmako's guide is 2 to 3 people in the Fjell 0.9m², up to 4 in the Fjell 1.3 and 1.6 and the Skog, and up to 6 in the Lys 2.0m².
Can I put a barrel sauna next to my fence?
In England an outbuilding within 2m of a boundary can be up to 2.5m high under permitted development. Our barrels are 2.06 to 2.25m, so they fit, as long as the other outbuilding rules are met and nothing like a listed building or Article 4 Direction applies.
Still deciding?
Tell us how many people will use it, where it will go and whether you have power at the end of the garden, and we'll suggest two or three that fit.
