Black aluminum window detail against a white wall

Crateworks vs KLAFS

KLAFS is the German luxury name in home saunas. Its saunas are built to measure, fitted under sloping roofs, into cellars and alcoves, and finished in veneered panels with frameless glass fronts. Most models are sold by quote through KLAFS showrooms. Its retractable S1 has a published US price: it was listed at $44,900 to $51,900 when it launched in the US in July 2026, with delivery and installation extra. Crateworks specifies a traditional sauna to your room with a name-brand stone heater, and supplies it in the same order as the rest of the house: millwork, doors, cold plunge and finishes. Here is where each one fits.

The honest split

Built to orderCrateworksThermally-broken aluminum
Established brandKLAFS
01Published price
Quoted to your room; no published list priceS1 listed at $44,900 to $51,900 at its July 2026 US launch, installation extra; most models by quote
02How it is sold
Send the room; we return a spec and a package priceBy quote through KLAFS showrooms and partners
03Fit
Specified to your room and supplied as numbered panelsMade to measure in 10 cm steps; sloping roofs, cellars, alcoves
04Heater
HUUM or Harvia stone heater, stones exposed for pouring waterKLAFS heaters, including a hidden under-bench option with a pour flap
05Design service
Spec and layout drawing for your builder and electricianKLAFS designers work with your architect; on-site consultant visit
06Scope
Sauna in the same order as millwork, doors, plunge and finishesSauna, infrared, steam, pool and whirlpool products
07Controls
Heater maker's Wi-Fi control (HUUM UKU or Harvia)KLAFS control panels, KLAFS app and KNX home automation

Where KLAFS wins

KLAFS builds saunas under sloping roofs, in vaulted cellars and around existing windows, with sizes that adjust in 10 cm steps. Its designers work with your architect, and a KLAFS consultant visits the site to work through the power, ventilation and flooring. The finish options include veneered walls, frameless glass, floating benches with no visible frame, and an under-bench heater that hides the stove entirely while still taking water through a flap in the bench. It connects to home automation through a KNX module. If you want a fully resolved built-in sauna with a design service to match, that is KLAFS.

Where Crateworks wins

Crateworks specifies a traditional sauna to the room you have, with a name-brand stone heater from HUUM or Harvia that you pour water on directly, and ships it as numbered panels with a layout drawing for your builder's crew. The real difference is the order it arrives in. The sauna comes in the same order as the millwork, doors, cold plunge and finishes for the rest of the house, specified together and quoted together, instead of as a separate purchase through a showroom.

Common questions

KLAFS publishes few prices. The retractable S1 was listed at $44,900 to $51,900 when it launched in the US in July 2026, with delivery and installation at extra cost. Its made-to-measure models, including CASENA, AURA and PREMIUM, are priced by quote through KLAFS showrooms.
If you want a traditional sauna specified to your room and supplied with the rest of the house in one order, yes. If you want KLAFS's design service, veneered joinery and made-to-measure fit under sloping roofs and in cellars, KLAFS does that better. Choose on which matters more for your project.
Built-in fit and finish. KLAFS sizes its saunas in 10 cm steps, fits them under sloping roofs and in cellars, finishes them in veneered panels with frameless glass, and sends a consultant to the site to work through power, ventilation and flooring. It also offers a hidden under-bench heater and KNX home automation.

Compare a real quote.

The honest test is a like-for-like quote. Send us the spec and we will quote it, so you can put a real number next to any brand.

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