Calculator
What does a sauna cost to run in Canada?
About $15 a month for a 9 kW electric sauna used four times a week at Toronto's rate, by our math. Pick your province in the calculator for your own figure.
A 9 kW electric sauna used four times a week costs about $15 a month to run at Toronto's electricity rate, by our math, and it's roughly half that in Montréal and closer to $21 in Calgary. An infrared cabin costs a few dollars a month, and a wood-fired sauna swaps the power bill for firewood. Pick your province in the calculator below, or type in the energy rate from your own bill if you'd like it closer still.
Try it with your numbers
Your sauna, your province’s rate
Per session
84¢
Per month
$15
Per year
$175
We assume the heater averages 60% of rated power while on: full power while the room warms, then cycling to hold temperature. Count the warm-up in your minutes. Provincial rates are Hydro-Québec’s averages for average price for 1,000 kWh a month, before taxes, in effect Apr 1, 2025. Your own bill’s energy rate is closer still.
What a sauna costs to run in each province
We've worked out the same two saunas at each province's rate: a 9 kW electric heater on for an hour a session, warm-up included, and a 2 kW infrared cabin on for 45 minutes. Both run four sessions a week. The rates are averages Hydro-Québec publishes every year for the main city in each province, so they're a fair comparison from coast to coast.
| Province | City | Rate (¢/kWh) | 9 kW electric, per session | 9 kW electric, per month | 2 kW infrared, per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | Vancouver | 12.60 | $0.68 | $11.83 | $2.30 |
| Alberta | Calgary | 22.90 | $1.24 | $21.49 | $4.18 |
| Alberta | Edmonton | 22.00 | $1.19 | $20.65 | $4.01 |
| Saskatchewan | Regina | 17.89 | $0.97 | $16.79 | $3.26 |
| Manitoba | Winnipeg | 10.53 | $0.57 | $9.88 | $1.92 |
| Ontario | Toronto | 15.57 | $0.84 | $14.61 | $2.84 |
| Ontario | Ottawa | 14.35 | $0.77 | $13.47 | $2.62 |
| Quebec | Montréal | 8.29 | $0.45 | $7.78 | $1.51 |
| New Brunswick | Moncton | 16.61 | $0.90 | $15.59 | $3.03 |
| Nova Scotia | Halifax | 20.48 | $1.11 | $19.22 | $3.74 |
| Prince Edward Island | Charlottetown | 19.69 | $1.06 | $18.48 | $3.59 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | St. John's | 15.59 | $0.84 | $14.63 | $2.85 |
Rates from Hydro-Québec's Comparison of Electricity Prices in Major North American Cities, 2025 edition: average prices for 1,000 kWh a month, rates in effect Apr 1, 2025, before taxes; read Oct 11, 2026, when no 2026 edition was out. Costs by our math: kW × hours on × 60% for electric or 70% for infrared × the rate, with 4.345 weeks to a month.
How we work it out
Multiply the heater's power by the hours it's on, then by the share of that power it draws in practice, then by your rate. A heater runs flat out while the room warms, then switches on and off to hold the temperature, so we assume it averages 60% of its rating across the hour. That figure is our estimate. Canadian makers quote a quarter of an hour or less to heat a barrel, so we count an hour of heater time for a 45-minute session.
For a 9 kW heater, that's 5.4 kWh a session. At Toronto's rate a session comes to about 84¢, and four a week add up to about $15 a month.
Why your bill might come out different
Hydro-Québec's figures are averages for a home using 1,000 kWh a month, including each utility's fixed charges and before tax. The extra kilowatt-hours a sauna adds are priced at your marginal rate, which can sit above or below that average. Utilities in several provinces charge by tier or by time of day, and Ontario's time-of-use prices make an evening sauna dearer than a weekend-morning one.
Rates also move. Hydro-Québec's own table shows Calgary's average swinging by several cents a kilowatt-hour from year to year, so we'd plug in the energy rate from your latest bill for the closest figure. A cold, windy February also means a longer warm-up, which adds minutes to every session.
Infrared costs a few dollars a month
An infrared cabin draws far less power than a hot-rock heater and doesn't heat the air nearly as hot. A 2 kW cabin on for 45 minutes uses about 1 kWh a session by our math, which is less than $3 a month at Toronto's rate. SaunaRay's SR2, the Canadian-built infrared cabin we list, runs off a standard wall plug, so there's no new circuit to pay for either.
Where to buy
SaunaRay Infrared Saunas
SaunaRay SR2 Two Seater
Built by hand in Collingwood, Ontario
Wood heat trades the power bill for firewood
A wood-fired sauna uses no electricity at all, so the calculator counts the firewood you buy instead. What that costs depends on where you live and what you burn, so enter what a session's worth of dry wood costs you. Cottage owners who cut their own will find it costs them mostly time.
The bigger costs come before the first session
With an electric sauna, wiring the new 240V circuit and getting it permitted usually costs more up front than years of electricity, so we'd price that first. Our sauna wiring guide covers the breaker, the wire and who's allowed to do the work. A wood stove brings a chimney and often an inspection, which our permits page covers.
How did we work this out?
We took every province's rate from Hydro-Québec's 2025 comparison of electricity prices in North American cities, read on Oct 11, 2026, after checking that no 2026 edition was out. The duty cycle and the hour of heater time are our own estimates, explained above, and the calculator lets you change both. The product pages and our assistant tool use the same rates and formula.
Common questions
- What does it cost to run a sauna in Canada?
- A 9 kW electric sauna used four times a week for an hour of heater time costs about $8 to $21 a month in electricity, by our math, depending on the province. At Toronto's average rate of 15.57¢ per kWh, it costs about $15 a month.
- How much electricity does a sauna use?
- A 9 kW electric sauna heater on for an hour uses about 5.4 kWh, assuming it averages 60% of its rated power while it heats the room and holds the temperature. A 2 kW infrared cabin on for 45 minutes uses about 1 kWh.
- Is an infrared sauna cheaper to run than a traditional sauna?
- Yes. A 2 kW infrared cabin costs about $3 a month to run four times a week at Toronto's rate, against about $15 for a 9 kW electric hot-rock sauna, by our math. Infrared cabins run at lower air temperatures and draw less power.
- Which province is cheapest to run a sauna in?
- Quebec, by a wide margin. Montréal's average residential rate was 8.29¢ per kWh in Hydro-Québec's 2025 comparison, so a 9 kW electric sauna used four times a week costs about $8 a month there, against about $21 in Calgary.
We review from makers’ documentation, owner reports and published research. How we choose products and write reviews.
