Quick Answer: Health Mate and Heavenly Heat are the two oldest infrared sauna brands we cover — Health Mate since 1979, Heavenly Heat since 1988, nine years apart. Health Mate builds Mahogany/Cedar cabins with proprietary Tecoloy heaters and publishes clear list prices (Enrich 2-person ~$5,300). Heavenly Heat builds zero-glue Canadian Hemlock cabins with Faraday-shielded carbon heaters, but leads with monthly financing figures instead of a list price — independent testing at Garage Gym Reviews put its 2-Person Far Infrared at about $5,600. Neither brand sells through Amazon or publishes a specific EMF milligauss reading.
Both brands already reference each other in passing — our Health Mate sauna review and Heavenly Heat sauna review each note the other as the closest competitor on operating history. Neither page puts the two side by side, which is the obvious next question for anyone comparing the two longest-running names in home infrared saunas.
Health Mate vs. Heavenly Heat, side by side
| Brand | Since | Wood | Heater | Entry price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Mate Enrich (2-person) | 1979 | Mahogany or Western Red Cedar | Tecoloy full-spectrum, lifetime warranty | ~$5,300 |
| Health Mate Inspire (2-person) | 1979 | Mahogany or Western Red Cedar | Same Tecoloy heaters + app control | ~$7,400 |
| Heavenly Heat Far Infrared (2-person) | 1988 | 100% Canadian Hemlock, zero glue/stain | Carbon, Faraday + cable shielded | ~$5,600 (independently priced) |
| Heavenly Heat Combination (2-person) | 1988 | Canadian Hemlock | Infrared + traditional rock-based heat | From $334/mo financed |
Health Mate — the oldest brand, and the only one with a published list price
Health Mate Enrich Infrared Sauna (2 & 3-Person)
- Running since 1979 — nine years longer than Heavenly Heat, and the longest track record of any infrared brand on this site, per our Health Mate sauna review.
- Publishes a clean list price directly on its own site, which Heavenly Heat's own pages don't do for most models — Health Mate's "ultra-low EMF" claim is the one spec it doesn't back with a published milligauss number.
- Finances through Affirm, which per our sauna financing guide discloses simple vs. deferred interest upfront per offer, before you accept.
Heavenly Heat — the hemlock build, priced through financing instead of a list price
Heavenly Heat Far Infrared 2-Person Sauna
- Second-longest track record on this site at 1988, per our Heavenly Heat sauna review — but its own site leads with "from $189/mo" financing figures rather than Health Mate's style of a single dollar total.
- 100% non-resinous Canadian Hemlock with no plywood, wood glue, paint, or stains — a distinct, hypoallergenic-positioned build against Health Mate's Mahogany/Cedar cabinetry.
- Garage Gym Reviews' 2026 testing found two real-world gaps worth knowing before you buy: heat-up ran 25-30 minutes against a claimed 10-15, and manufacturing has expanded beyond the US to multiple countries.
The wood: cedar/mahogany cabinetry vs. a zero-glue hemlock pitch
Health Mate’s Enrich and Inspire lines use Mahogany or Western Red Cedar cabinetry, the same general cedar-family approach most infrared cabin brands on this site use. Heavenly Heat goes a different direction entirely: 100% non-resinous Canadian Hemlock with no plywood, no wood glue, no paint, and no stains anywhere in the cabin. That’s a genuinely distinct build philosophy, not just a different species — Heavenly Heat markets it as its “cleanest” construction angle specifically because there’s no adhesive or finish layer to off-gas. Neither approach is objectively better; it’s cedar/mahogany’s warmer, more conventional cabin feel against hemlock’s stripped-down, additive-free pitch.
Price transparency: a published list price vs. a monthly-financing figure
This is the sharpest practical difference between the two. Health Mate states Enrich and Inspire prices directly on its own site — $5,300 to $8,400 depending on size and line, no financing math required to find the number. Heavenly Heat’s own product pages lead with monthly figures instead (“from $189/mo” for the entry ECO Infrared, “from $334/mo” for the 2-Person Combination), and the only real outright dollar figure for its best-seller comes from Garage Gym Reviews’ independent testing: about $5,600 for the Far Infrared 2-Person. If you want to compare the two brands on price without doing your own financing math, Health Mate’s site gives you that number directly; Heavenly Heat’s doesn’t.
Which one fits you
- You want the longest track record and a published list price: Health Mate’s 1979 start and direct $5,300-$8,400 pricing make comparison shopping simpler — see our Health Mate sauna review for the full Enrich/Inspire breakdown.
- You want a zero-glue, hypoallergenic-positioned cabin: Heavenly Heat’s Canadian Hemlock build with no plywood or stains is the more distinct wood pitch of the two, at roughly the same $5,600 price point once independently verified.
- You’re financing instead of paying cash: Health Mate’s Affirm discloses simple vs. deferred interest per offer; Heavenly Heat’s BreadPay plans are monthly-figure-first. Our sauna financing guide breaks down both alongside Wells Fargo’s Outdoor Solutions card.
- You care about where the cabin is actually built: ask Heavenly Heat directly which facility your model ships from, since Garage Gym Reviews found manufacturing has expanded beyond the US to multiple countries — a shift the brand’s 1988 heritage marketing doesn’t headline.
The bottom line
Health Mate and Heavenly Heat are the two oldest infrared sauna brands we cover, nine years apart (1979 vs. 1988), and both skip Amazon checkout in favor of direct-site financing. The real decision isn’t age — it’s wood and price transparency: Health Mate’s Mahogany/Cedar cabins come with a published list price ($5,300-$8,400), while Heavenly Heat’s zero-glue Canadian Hemlock build is priced mostly through financing figures, with $5,600 as the one independently-verified number for its best-seller. Pick Health Mate if you want a direct price to compare against other brands on this site; pick Heavenly Heat if the additive-free hemlock build matters more to you than knowing the outright cost before you call for financing terms.