The brand guide
Nootka Saunas review: which one should you buy?
Buy the 8 ft barrel unless you need more seats or two bench tiers. Nootka builds it, the 10 ft and the Cube to order in Squamish from BC cedar, and we priced all three in Canadian dollars with the heater.
Canada’s Saunas verdict
“Start with the 8 ft barrel and its 9 kW heater.”
All three come out of the same Squamish shop in the same western red cedar, so you’re choosing seats and shape. The 8 ft seats four by Nootka’s count and lands near $8,900 with the heater. A bigger group, or anyone who’d rather burn wood, should go to the 10 ft.
The Cube costs about $5,600 more than the 8 ft and puts an upper bench where the heat gathers. Its weak spot is the warm-up, which Nootka puts at 30 to 45 minutes against 10 to 15 for a barrel.
The Nootka lineup
Barrel · seats four
Nootka 8ft Barrel Sauna
Built in Squamish, British Columbia · with imported parts
“Nootka's 8 ft electric barrel is the Canadian sauna we'd buy first.”
Barrel · seats up to eight
Nootka 10ft Barrel Sauna
Built in Squamish, British Columbia · with imported parts
“Buy the 10 ft barrel if you host a crowd or want to heat with wood.”
Cube · seats five
Nootka Cube Sauna
Built in Squamish, British Columbia
“The Cube gives you a Finnish upper bench for about $5,600 more than the 8 ft barrel.”
With code SAUNAMONTHLY, Nootka adds the Sauna Essentials Kit and the Exterior Sealant Kit free, worth $320. Put them in the cart beside the sauna before you check out.
Which Nootka fits you?
Tell us how many will sit in it and how you’ll heat it, and we’ll pick the model and options by Nootka’s own seat counts. Comparing makers? The sauna finder checks every sauna we list.
Nootka 8 ft barrel$10,249How many at once, most of the time?
How will you heat it?
Barrel or Cube?
How much rain and snow do you get?
Nice to have
Seats four
Nootka 8 ft barrel
$10,249 as picked
- Four fit on the facing benches, and Nootka quotes 10 to 15 minutes to heat it.
- The metal roof sheds rain and snow, and Nootka says it cuts the warm-up by about a fifth.
- LTE control starts it from your phone, with five years of service included.
Price your Nootka
The builder totals each option at Nootka’s Canadian prices and lists what you’ll pay outside Nootka’s invoice, from the electrician to freight.
Every option at Nootka’s Canadian prices
Your build at Nootka
- 8 ft barrel with Nootka's 9 kW heater$8,900
Nootka’s page opens with these options already picked, so you can check the total before you pay.
- What Nootka says this build does
- Nootka rates it for 4 people and quotes 10–15 minutes to heat.
- What it costs to run
- About $15 a month in power by our math, for 4 one-hour sessions a week at Ontario's rate of 15.6¢ a kWh. Price it at your own rate.
- What Nootka doesn’t charge for
- The heater runs on a 240V circuit with a 50-amp breaker, and a licensed electrician puts it in under the Canadian Electrical Code, with a permit from your province. Read our wiring guide. You also supply a level base, and gravel or pavers under the cradles will do. Check the permit rules where you live.
Prices from Nootka’s Canadian store on Oct 16, 2026, before tax. Delivery prices come from the rate table behind Nootka’s delivery checker, and Nootka’s checkout has the final word.
Walk around all three in 3D
Outside
Nootka uses western red cedar milled locally in BC, graded select tight-knot and kiln-dried. Its FAQ says drying the wood first keeps the staves from cracking or warping the way green lumber can.
Cedar swells and shrinks with the seasons. If a seam opens up in a dry spell, a turn on the band closes it again.
The door wall sits back inside the barrel, so the step in front of it stays out of the rain and snow.
A full glass door adds $600 on the barrels and brings a lot more daylight in.
Set the temperature and a session timer here. With Nootka's LTE app control you can start the heat from your phone, and Nootka includes five years of the service before charging $50 a year.
Nootka says the roof cuts heat-up time by about 20%, and it keeps the weather off the top of the staves.
The 8 ft weighs about 660 kg (1,450 lb) on its cedar cradles, so set it on a level pad of gravel, pavers or decking. Skerks Engineering certified the design to Part 9 of the BC Building Code for ground snow loads up to 13 kPa (272 psf).
Nootka's XL rear window adds $550. Turn that end of the barrel toward the best view on your lot.
Inside
Nootka's own heater carries a CSA mark and runs on a 240V circuit with a 50-amp breaker, which an electrician puts in. CSA caps electric sauna heaters at 90°C (194°F), Nootka notes. For wood heat, the configurator swaps in a Harvia M3 stove from Finland for $1,400.
That's Nootka's count with the electric heater. A wood stove takes floor space, and Nootka rates a wood-fired 8 ft for two.
It sits in the back wall above the heater, about level with your eyes when you're sitting.
LED strips under the benches light the floor and keep the glare out of your eyes. Nootka offers them as a lighting upgrade in its configurator.
With no corners for hot air to collect in, the heat rolls along the curve and back down the walls toward the benches.
Our model follows Nootka's drawings and photographs, and a few small details may not match the sauna that's delivered.
What sets Nootka apart
- Built in Squamish, start to finishNootka says a small team builds every sauna to order in its own Squamish shop and that it doesn't sell imported kits. The western red cedar comes from mills nearby, though Nootka doesn't name them.
- A crew that builds it in your yardIn the areas on its delivery checker, Nootka's crew brings the sauna and has a barrel standing in five or six hours. The list runs well past BC, to Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa.
- A heater with its own CSA markNootka's 9 kW heater carries CSA certification in its manual, and Nootka quotes 10 to 15 minutes to heat a barrel. It wants a 50-amp, 240V circuit, so book a licensed electrician early.
- The heater warranty is shortNootka covers its heater for two years. Ask what the cedar shell carries before you pay the 15% deposit that holds a build slot.
Read before you buy
Brand Review
Nootka Saunas review: which barrel or Cube should you buy?
Nootka builds three saunas in Squamish from BC cedar. The 8 ft electric barrel suits most buyers, and we'd take the 10 ft if you want a wood stove.
9 min read
Comparison
Nootka or LeisureCraft: which barrel sauna should you buy?
Nootka's 8 ft barrel costs less once both have a heater, by our math. LeisureCraft's Harmony keeps the wood Ontario-grown and comes through dealers across the country.
7 min read
Buyer's Guide
Which barrel sauna built in Canada should you buy?
Ten Canadian makers build barrel saunas, and we'd start with the one nearest you. We compared their sizes, walls and heaters, and how each barrel reaches your yard.
10 min read
Buyer's Guide
How do you wire a sauna heater in Canada?
A 9 kW sauna heater needs a 50-amp circuit, a Canadian approval mark and a one-hour timer. We read Ontario's sauna rules and two heater manuals to lay it out.
9 min read
Buyer's Guide
Do you need a permit for a backyard sauna in Canada?
A sauna under about 10 m² can often skip the building permit, but its wiring can't. We read the codes and bylaws for Ontario, BC, Alberta and Quebec.
10 min read
Calculator
What does a sauna cost to run in Canada?
A 9 kW electric sauna used four times a week costs about $8 a month in Montréal and $21 in Calgary, by our math. The calculator uses your province's rate.
6 min read
Common questions
- Where are Nootka saunas made?
- Nootka Saunas builds every barrel and Cube to order in its own shop in Squamish, British Columbia, from western red cedar milled locally, its FAQ says. Nootka also says it doesn't sell imported kits. The wood-fired barrels use a Harvia M3 stove, which is a Finnish brand.
- How much does a Nootka sauna cost in Canada?
- Nootka's Canadian store lists the 8 ft barrel from $7,950 to $11,649, the 10 ft barrel from $9,350 to $13,049 and the Cube from $14,500 to $15,750, depending on the heater and options. The barrels start as a bare shell, and Nootka's 9 kW heater adds $950. Freight, the electrician and tax come on top.
- Does Nootka assemble the sauna for you?
- Yes, in the areas on Nootka's delivery checker, which run from Vancouver and Vancouver Island to Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and the Quebec region. Nootka's crew puts a barrel up in five or six hours for a set fee by area. Everywhere else the sauna arrives flat-packed by carrier and you build it.
- Is there a Nootka discount code?
- Yes. With the code SAUNAMONTHLY, Nootka adds its Sauna Essentials Kit and Exterior Sealant Kit free, worth $320. Put both kits in the cart beside the sauna and enter the code at checkout. On a phone order, name the kits and read out the code before you pay.
- Which Nootka sauna should I buy?
- Most buyers should order the Nootka 8 ft barrel with the 9 kW electric heater, which seats four and comes to about $8,900 by our math. Choose the 10 ft for a bigger group or a wood stove, and the Cube if you want two bench tiers and can spend about $5,600 more.
Reader perk
$320 in kits comes free with your Nootka sauna
With our code, Nootka Saunas adds these to any sauna order at no charge:
- Sauna Essentials Kit ($150): Nootka's cedar bucket and ladle.
- Exterior Sealant Kit ($170): a 2.5 L tin of OSMO exterior sealant and a wide brush, which you apply yourself.
Nothing arrives unless it’s in the order. Put both kits in the cart beside the sauna, then enter the code at checkout, or read it out if you’re buying over the phone:
Nootka pays us a commission on a sale through our links or this code, and your price stays the same. Nootka can’t credit the code once an order’s placed.
This guide draws on Nootka’s FAQ, its about page, its heater manual and its Canadian store, read Oct 10 to 16, 2026. Nootka pays us a commission on sales through our links and code, and our disclosure explains how. Nootka didn’t review or approve this page.