The Best Pill Boxes

Rebecca takes medications and supplements daily and is a regular traveler who needs an easy to-go option. She has also helped older family members organize their medications over the years.

Adrienne is an occasional caregiver for family members and has doled out plenty of medications and relied on pill boxes to track what she’s doing.

For this guide:

• We tested 17 pill boxes and organizers both in our own lives and with a panel of testers with diverse medication needs. We also gathered feedback from long-term users of our current and previous picks in this guide.
• We spoke with experts on caregiving, consulted with staff and members at community centers for older adults, and pored over hundreds of online pill box reviews and forums, as well as academic research on pill boxes and medication management.
• Like all Wirecutter contributors, we review and test products with complete editorial independence. We’re never made aware of any business implications of our editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

A good pill box can help you remember to take medications as prescribed, protecting your health and preventing unnecessary hospitalizations or even death.

The right pill box can also help forestall the need for more intensive care, such as an assisted-living facility. “A pill box can be really key in helping someone be independent for as long as possible,” said Amy Goyer, AARP’s family and caregiving expert.

When you’re choosing a pill box for yourself or a loved one, considering a few key factors can point you toward the right model. If you only want to purchase one pill box, even as your medication needs change over time, consider buying a model that’s larger than you currently need. And if someone helps you with your medication, include them when deciding which pill box to get.

If you’re looking for a smart pill dispenser with automated reminders, the only model we tested that lived up to the hype was the Hero Smart Pill Dispenser. If the Hero’s subscription model and price tag are prohibitive, but you need a reminder to take pills, we suggest setting up a scheduled reminder on a phone or a smart speaker for use in combination with a regular pill box. (There are specific medication reminder apps — including one made by Auvon, the manufacturer of one of our picks — but we didn’t test them.)

Top pick

The most versatile pill organizer

Koviuu Weekly Pill Organizer

This weekly organizer has daily compartments that you can pop out and take with you. Its rubber tops are gentlest on arthritic hands and fingers.

$18 from Amazon

Not your average pill box, the paperback book-sized Koviuu Weekly Pill Organizer is both good-looking and practical. Its two daily compartments are roomy enough for both larger supplements and smaller medications.

Its design is inventive yet practical. The Koviuu weekly organizer strikes a hard-to-find sweet spot between functionality and design. Seven removable, cylindrical pill containers offer a fun-feeling alternative to the typical weekly design.

It travels well. The pills never spilled out of the daily containers as they were jostled in our bags, and it was nice to be able to take just one or two of them, as needed. When all seven cylinders are in the larger case, a plastic bar holds them in place; testers were pleased with how they stayed put during travel.

It’s easy on arthritic hands. Unlike the plastic lids that snap shut on many of the other pill organizers we tested, the Koviuu’s soft, colorful rubber caps were gentle on testers with arthritis or limited dexterity. The bar that holds the daily containers in place lifts easily, making it simple to remove the daily containers.

The Koviuu is one of our roomiest picks. Each compartment of the individual canisters is roughly 1 inch wide and 1.75 inches deep, making each side spacious enough for 10 to 12 pills, including larger supplements. One tester did find that although she could easily fit all her pills in the cases, the narrowness of the cylinders caused larger pills to occasionally get stuck.

It comes in both opaque and translucent models. The opaque design is ideal for both privacy and photosensitive pills. Some testers mentioned needing a pill box they could easily see through to quickly check whether or not they’d taken their pills, and the translucent Koviuu makes that possible.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Filling it can be cumbersome. To fill both sides of each day’s pill case, you have to fill one, close it, then flip it over and repeat. One tester with hand tremors found this process time-consuming, and turning each cylinder over created more opportunities to knock the organizer over and spill pills.

The labels are a bit ambiguous. Instead of “AM” and “PM,” the rubber caps of each compartment are imprinted with either a 1 or 2. Though the imprint means the numbers won’t wear off, one tester found this a bit confusing.

Top pick

The best pill organizer for taking pills throughout the day

Auvon iMedassist Moisture-Proof Weekly Pill Organizer

Good for both weekly and daily pill organization, this case is more durable and closes more securely than other similar organizers we tried. But at the size of an iPad, it may be too much pill box for some people.

$13 from Amazon

With a cheerful rainbow of daily compartments and a secure outer carrying case, the Auvon iMedassist Moisture-Proof Weekly Pill Organizer is the best choice for someone who needs to take pills more than twice a day.

It’s large enough to fit all your pills for the week. This organizer has a section for each day of the week that can hold four daily doses. Some testers liked this design because they could use it for two weeks (by using half the compartments) or even a month (by using only one compartment per day). The individual compartments are big enough to hold larger pills and supplements.

It’s easy to travel with. The daily cases are removable from the larger box, so you can just take one day’s pills with you instead of the whole case. If you travel with the larger case, its sturdy latch makes spills unlikely. “I balked at how unwieldy the Auvon seemed at first since the full case is enormous, but removing an individual day each morning makes it much less obtrusive,” one of our testers said.

It’s well made. Some pill boxes we tested had markings that rubbed off right away, but the Auvon iMedassist organizer’s markings survived our efforts to scratch or remove them. The case is held together with five hinges and seems designed to withstand many hours of opening and closing.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It requires a lot of opening and closing to fill. Testers with arthritis found it slightly uncomfortable and challenging to open so many different latches and individual compartments.

It’s enormous. There’s no hiding this pill organizer; it will take up a lot of real estate on your counter. But the cheery colors and labels with suns, moons, and stars for different times of day help soften its clunky presence. If you prefer word labels, you might consider the Sukuos Weekly Pill Organizer, an extremely similar model that simply states “Morn,” “Noon,” “Eve,” and “Bed” on its compartments.

Top pick

A straightforward organizer with two daily compartments

Ezy Dose Weekly AM/PM Pill Case

This no-nonsense weekly organizer takes up little room on a countertop and is one of few with Braille labels. You can pop out individual days for easy transport.

$5 from Amazon

The Ezy Dose Weekly AM/PM Pill Planner offers two compartments per day and, unlike our other picks, has Braille labels. Its small footprint and removable compartments will appeal to someone who wants to take one or two days’ worth of pills on the go.

It’s compact. At 1.25 inches long and 0.75 inch wide, each compartment is smaller than those on some twice-daily pill organizers (such as the Koviuu Weekly Pill Organizer we recommend), with the whole organizer taking up less space on a crowded bathroom or kitchen countertop. The small size also lends itself to travel; you can either remove an individual day or take the whole week. The organizer also comes in a larger size (3.62 by 7.25 inches), which we didn’t test.

It doesn’t have bells and whistles. One tester called this pill organizer’s straightforward design “elegant.” It’s not fancy, it’s clearly labeled, and it gets the job done.

It has Braille labels on the lids. Very few pill organizers we tested have Braille, and this was the only one that met all our other criteria as well.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The tiny footprint means less room for large pills. While testers liked the small size, it comes at the cost of space for larger medications. Each compartment is fairly deep, but people who take large supplements, gummy vitamins, or a lot of pills still might find it limiting. One compartment holds about four large supplements and two to three small pills.

Top pick

The best waterproof pill organizer

Matador Waterproof Pill Canister

This travel-friendly organizer has room for a week’s worth of pills and keeps water out.

$20 from REI

$20 from Matador

The sleek aluminum Matador Waterproof Pill Canister would look right at home among upscale camping gear or just on a bathroom counter, ready to face the elements in style. If keeping out all moisture is a concern, this is the pill organizer for you.

It’s truly waterproof. We submerged all of the organizers we tested in water, and this was the only one that didn’t allow a drop of moisture to get in. Whether you’re worried about condensation seeping in from your shower or you’re taking your pills whitewater rafting, this airtight container will keep them dry.

It’s a convenient size for travel. At just shy of 8 inches long and less than 2 inches wide, this organizer won’t take up much space in a backpack or suitcase. The Matador also has a paracord loop on one end, so you can hang it up or clip it to a carabiner.

It’s aesthetically pleasing. The sleek aluminum canister more closely resembles a small hard drive than a pill organizer, so it won’t be an eyesore if you leave it out on the counter.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The compartments aren’t large. People who need multiple compartments for pills throughout the day, or who take many large pills, may find the Matador isn’t roomy enough. Each compartment holds roughly four larger supplements and a couple of small pills.

Some found its sleek edges to be sharp. While the box we tested didn’t have this issue, a few online reviewers have noted sharp corners on their versions of this product.

The design might lead to spilled pills. Like another of our picks, the Mimi Medcessories organizer, the sliding design means it’s possible to slide past the compartment you want and wind up dumping out more than one day’s pills. But the top and bottom of the organizer are more distinct from each other than those of the Mimi, making an accidental spill less likely.

Top pick

An attractive pill case perfect for travel

Mimi Medcessories Pretty Pill Box

Similar in design to our waterproof pick, this organizer is pretty in pink and has ever-so-slightly larger compartments than the Matador.

$24 from Amazon

$24 from Walmart

This charming pill organizer, with its rounded edges and rose gold exterior, could almost pass for an Apple product. Though it’s large enough to hold a week’s worth of pills, it’s still small enough to slide into a bag or purse, making it a great choice for the traveler who prioritizes aesthetics.

It’s good-looking, and it comes in multiple colors. While many pill organizers look like they belong in a hospital, the Mimi Medcessories Pretty Pill Box could pass as a cosmetic case. The plastic body is coated with a soft metallic material that gives it an elegant glow. It comes in three colors: rose, champagne, and “steele,” a dark gray.

It has daily compartments, plus an extra that none of our other picks have. In addition to the usual one compartment per day, this model includes a small extra compartment for pills taken on an as-needed basis. It also slides open easily in either direction, revealing compartments for Saturday and Sunday on one side and Monday through Friday on the other. Each compartment is about a quarter inch longer than those in the Matador, our waterproof pick.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The sliding mechanism is clunky. Although everyone who saw this pill box liked the idea of its design, the plastic sliding mechanism broke for one of our testers after less than a year. Another tester found the mechanism to be sticky in the beginning, though its movement became smoother after a few uses.

Its design can lead to spilled pills. Because the top side looks identical to the bottom (save a small logo), it’s far too easy to open this box upside down and accidentally dump all your pills out on the floor. Our testers discovered this the hard way.

The compartment labels could be confusing. Some testers and online reviewers didn’t like that the Saturday and Sunday compartment labels are switched (an intentional design choice so that they appear in the correct order if you slide open the pill box to the right), but this didn’t bother everyone.

Top pick

The prettiest pill organizer

Aposhacary Pill Box Organizer

This circular pill box isn’t the most practical, but its shiny, sleek exterior is a pleasant alternative to standard models. The compartments can be hard to open, though.

$16 from Aposhacary

With a svelte circular design, the Aposhacary Pill Box Organizer would look more at home in a jewelry store than a pharmacy. It’s not particularly roomy, but it’s very discreet.

It’s customizable. Instead of arriving pre-labeled, the Aposhacary organizer comes with stickers so you can customize the different segments. This might be too fussy for some people, but a few of our testers delighted in applying the tiny gold sun and moon and days of the week.

It’s elegant. “This would be the pill box I’d take to the Oscars,” one of our enthused testers told us. While you may not be heading to the red carpet, having a pill organizer that feels more beautiful than utilitarian can add some glamour to an otherwise charmless daily task. It’s available in black or pearl cream.

It’s discreet. Don’t want to advertise the fact that you take pills? The Aposhacary has you covered. It appears more likely to be holding makeup or jewelry than medication, and it could perch on a dresser or counter without alerting anyone to its true function.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The labels may not last. The peel-and-stick labels seem likely to wear off over time, and one tester found the gold ink difficult to read. While the images and descriptions of symptoms on some stickers are cute, they won’t be practical for everyone.

It’s one of the most difficult to open and fill. Form is definitely prioritized over function with this organizer. Some testers found it difficult to open, and when all the triangular compartment tops are open, they overlap with each other in a way that can make filling them frustrating.

Top pick

A pill box designed for arthritic hands and fingers

Auvon Weekly Pill Organizer with Spring Open Design

Larger compartments and a push-button design make this pill box easier to open and close than other models. But it has only one compartment per day, and it feels a bit lightweight and flimsy.

$8 from Amazon

The Auvon Weekly Pill Organizer with Spring Open Design is easy to open and has sizable daily compartments that can hold several supplements in addition to smaller pills. Its classic design still manages to feel fresh thanks to the cheery rainbow-colored tops for each compartment.

It’s easy to open. If dealing with a traditional clasp is an issue for you, this pill box might be the right choice. It pops open when you press a lever. (We were even able to open the compartments using only our elbows.) One tester said the spring-open design made this box “a pleasure” to use.

It has spacious compartments. Its individual compartments were among the biggest in our tests and are roomy enough for large pills and supplements.

It has clear labels. The letters denoting the day of the week are large and easy to read, though one tester did note the labels began to fade over the course of a few months.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

There’s only one compartment per day. If you need to take pills more than once a day, at a specific time, this model might not be for you. If you want a similar design with two compartments, we recommend the Ezy Dose Weekly AM/PM Pill Planner with Push Buttons, though the markings on that model started coming off within a day of use in our tests.

It isn’t as sturdy as some of our other picks. It’s quite lightweight, and it had a tendency to slide along the counter when we tried to open it with one hand, so you may have to hold it down with one hand while depressing the lever with the other. One compartment’s lid popped off and broke when we knocked it off the counter.

Top pick

The largest pill box

Bexeen Extra Large Weekly Pill Organizer

This pill box isn’t subtle, but it will hold all your pills, including ginormous gummy vitamins and supplements.

$25 from Amazon

With the deepest compartments of any of our picks, the foot-long Bexeen Extra Large Weekly Pill Organizer lives up to its name. You won’t fool anyone into believing it’s anything other than a pill box, but it gets the job done. And like with several of our other picks, the daily compartments are removable.

It holds the most pills. The extra-large compartments allow you to store significantly more pills and supplements than any other model we tested.

It can be dismantled for travel. Each day’s compartment pops off the plastic base and can be packed in a purse or bag, where it stays reliably shut. This could be a helpful option if you’re traveling for a weekend or need to take some of your pills later in the day while away from home.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It’s not cute. This pill box is enormous and can’t be disguised as anything other than what it is. At more than 12 inches long, it will take up plenty of space on your countertop.

Removing the individual days can be tricky. Some testers with limited dexterity found it challenging to pop off the daily compartments for travel.

If you’re looking for a twice-a-day pill box that can easily travel in a set or one day at a time: The morning and evening compartments of the Zoksi Pill Organizer are roughly two times larger than the compartments in the Ezy Dose Weekly AM/PM Pill Planner, making it a better choice for those taking larger medications while out and about. We fit eight large supplements in each of the AM and PM compartments during our testing. One tester also noted that the large size of the compartments made them easier to clean than others we tested.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-open pill box with two compartments per day: The Ezy Dose Weekly AM/PM Pill Planner with Push Buttons has two compartments per day that spring open in a similar fashion to those of the Auvon Weekly Pill Organizer with Spring Open Design. It also has little grippy feet that prevent it from sliding along the counter as you put pressure on the latch — a downside of the Auvon version. But its day-of-the-week markings started to rub off almost immediately in our tests.

If you need a once-a-day pill box with Braille labels: The Ezy Dose Weekly Pill Case is a nice, simple option that’s smaller than the Ezy Dose Weekly AM/PM Pill Planner we recommend. At under $5, it was one of the cheapest models we found at the time of our research, and it comes in a variety of colors.

If you want a pill box with four compartments per day but find the labels on our four-compartment pick somewhat cryptic: The Sukuos Weekly Pill Organizer is similar to the Auvon iMedassist Moisture-Proof Weekly Pill Organizer in every way but uses “Morn,” “Noon,” “Eve,” and “Bed” for the time of day as opposed to symbols.

If you’re looking for something that travels quietly: Consider the Ezy Dose 7-Day Reusable Pill Pouch Set. The set includes seven small silicone Ziploc-style pouches labeled with days of the week inside a larger silicone pouch. The pouches can hold a larger number of pills and supplements than others we tested, and unlike a typical hard plastic case, they don’t rattle like a maraca in your purse while you carry them around — a quality that appealed to some of our testers.

If you’re looking for an automated dispenser with reminders: The Hero Smart Pill Dispenser has been, well, a hero for one Wirecutter contributor who was looking for a way to ensure her mother took the right pills at the right time. The Hero, which is about the size of a coffee maker, chimes and blinks to remind you to take your medication, and drops the specific pills you need into a cup at the press of a button. If you miss a dose, you’ll get a reminder on your phone after 15 minutes, and you can sync it so a caretaker also receives an alert. While our writer found the setup to be straightforward, the Hero does require a year-long subscription and relies on electricity and Wi-Fi to work, which may be a drawback for some users.

You can find hundreds of pill boxes out there, and new ones are surfacing all the time. To narrow the field, we started with advice from the AARP’s Amy Goyer: “Can you get it open easily? Will it stay shut? Are you gonna spill your pills when you pick it up? These may seem like little things, but in the middle of a caregiving day, it can really throw things off.”

In determining which pill boxes to test, we focused on models that met the following criteria:

• Well made: The hinges shouldn’t break, the markings shouldn’t rub or wash off, and the labels should be clear.
• Easy to open: A pill box is helpful only if the person can open it. For anyone who has limited wrist or finger strength, a model with spring-open compartments or a softer material is a better choice. But even models without springs should open relatively easily.
• Stays closed during transit: Digging around a bag for spilled pills is no one’s idea of fun, so we looked for pill boxes that stayed shut even when jostled around.
• Big enough for lots of pills: We looked for boxes that had compartments roomy enough to hold large pills — or a good quantity of medication and vitamins.
• Good for travel: We also considered smaller cases suitable for fitting inside a bag, and organizers with smaller, daily pop-out compartments.
• Designed attractively: A good-looking and well-organized pill box can do a lot to make the daily process of taking pills less onerous.

Though pill box choice is highly subjective, when we were deciding on which models to test, we noticed that a few elicited rave reviews on Amazon, Facebook groups, and Reddit.

We tested 17 pill boxes, including three smart pill dispensers and an automatic model. We left the organizers on bathroom counters while we showered and submerged them in water to see if they were moisture-proof. We put them through an array of stress tests, bending back the hinges to see if they flexed without snapping, and dropping them repeatedly from counter height to see if they would break or pop open.

We noted how easy each box was to open, taking into consideration the needs of anyone who may have limited strength or dexterity in their hands. We carried the pill boxes around in our bags, purses, and suitcases to see if they would pop open during transit and how well they traveled.

During our latest round of testing in 2024 and 2025, Rebecca sought the expertise of a panel of nine testers (who we paid for their time) with a variety of hand dexterity and strength levels, disabilities, and body types. Two testers then used the top contenders for at least a week each to see how they stood up to daily use. We also asked longtime testers of our picks for their feedback.

In our 2023 round of testing, Adrienne tested pill boxes with members of the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging in Brooklyn, New York. Wirecutter’s smart-home expert, writer Rachel Cericola, tested most of the smart and automatic pill dispensers.

Classic pill boxes

The Auvon XL Weekly Pill Organizer is very similar in style to the Zoksi Weekly Pill Organizer in that it has seven AM/PM removable containers inside a larger case, each of which holds a large number of pills. But it only comes in four monochromatic options, making it less cheery-looking.

Although the Holii Travel Pill Organizer is a good-looking, sturdy little case, it isn’t organized by the day of the week. The individual compartments are also so challenging to pry open that it comes with a plastic pick specifically for that task.

The Invoda Pill Organizer is indisputably adorable. The circular case is designed to look like a slice of a citrus fruit, with seven separate segments that rotate when you push a central button. The fun design addresses a common concern among pill takers: how to make the banal task of taking your daily medication a little less onerous. But the cutesy case arrived broken, and the push-button function was clunky and seemed fragile.

With more than 10,500 followers on Instagram and raves on Reddit, Port and Polish definitely has a fan base. The pill box is cute and discreet and comes in an array of colors. But we thought the day-of-the-week tabs were a bit flimsy, and we didn’t understand why a pill box needed a mirror.

The Se7en-Day Weekly Pill Organizer is much like our four-times-per-day pick, the Auvon iMedassist organizer, but the case is a bit flimsier, and it has only three compartments per day (which could be a selling point for some people).

The Sukuos Large Weekly Pill Organizer has round containers that hold the morning and evening pills for each day, and we like that those containers are removable. But we found the cartridge shape bulky and the latch for the case quite flimsy.

The Qunweidi Pill Organizer (currently unavailable) is virtually identical in style in its simplicity and its Braille labels to the Ezy Dose Weekly Pill Organizer, but the day-of-the-week labels are raised rather than printed, so they won’t ever rub off. Unfortunately, it’s often out of stock.

Smart and automatic pill dispensers

The EllieGrid Smart Pill Organizer was one of the better smart pill dispenser we tested, and it has the potential to be a time-saver for people with complex pill-taking regimens. However, for most people, we don’t think this model is helpful enough to warrant its high price. The box doesn’t track how many pills you take from the pill reservoir, or even if you’ve removed a pill at all — only that you’ve opened the box. On top of that, in our tests the spring-loaded latch had a tendency to pop open a bit too abruptly and eject all of its contents. We also had a difficult time connecting a smartphone to the device, though customer service was quick to help us. Some useful-sounding features, such as the box’s ability to notify a caregiver that you’ve taken your pills, are available only for an additional weekly fee.

The Loba at Home is a smart pill dispenser that’s geared toward the wellness market rather than older adults or others who take medications, and it lacks certain features that are crucial for many people, such as an audible alarm and customization of the schedule for different days of the week. It does have small removable compartments, though, as well as customizable LED colors that make the box glow in any hue you choose.

This article was edited by Claire Perlman, Kalee Thompson, and Christine Cyr Clisset.