The 3 Best Pill Boxes of 2023

Pill boxes are the unsung heroes of medical care. Whereas for some people they function as time-savers or take-your-pill reminders, for others they are an essential part of a health-care routine.

After evaluating 14 pill boxes, interviewing experts, and testing boxes with a variety of people, we don’t think one pill box is right for everyone. But we can recommend a few that will fit most people’s needs.

We looked for pill boxes that work for home use and for travel.

We preferred durability, ease of opening, and compartments that fit lots of pills.

We tested the pill boxes with five people who regularly take pills, and we got feedback from people at a senior center.

We sought a good-looking, well-organized pill box, as it can make the daily process of taking pills less onerous.

Good for both weekly and daily pill organization, this case is more durable and closes more securely than most organizers we tried. It’s huge, though—there’s no hiding this pill box.

May be out of stock

The most customizable option we tested, the Auvon iMedassist Moisture-Proof Weekly Pill Organizer comes with a case that holds seven smaller, color-coded containers for every day of the week, each with four pill compartments. The daily containers pop out, so you can bring just one day’s supply with you, no need to cart the whole thing around.

In contrast to some models we tested, this case has a latch that snaps shut, making accidental spills unlikely, even if you drop it. The Auvon iMedassist organizer was also one of the better-quality cases we tried, with a moisture-resistant gasket that makes a tight seal around the exterior of the box and better rub-resistant markings than we’ve seen on other models.

Other manufacturers make similar pill organizers, but the Auvon iMedassist had higher buyer ratings and the most reviews on Amazon at the time of our testing.

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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.

The Auvon Weekly Pill Organizer with Spring Open Design is a good choice for people who want a pill box that opens with the push of a button as opposed to their needing to pry open a latch.

This brightly colored model has roomy slots for every day of the week, and the marks on each compartment are rub resistant.

It has just one (fairly large) compartment per day, however, so it might not work for someone on a complicated pill-taking schedule. And we found its build quality to be a little flimsy.

Attractive and shiny, this model is the only pill organizer we like that doesn’t scream “I’m a pill box!” But we found it easier to accidentally spill pills with this case.

The Mimi Medcessories Pretty Pillbox is definitely the sexiest pill box we tested (if a pill box can be considered sexy). Whereas most pill boxes look like they belong in a hospital, the Pretty Pillbox, with its sleek and compact silhouette, looks a bit like an oversized tube of lipstick. As a result, it’s not only discreet but also a great on-the-go option.

Unlike other cases, the Pretty Pillbox has an additional compartment for pills taken on an as-needed basis.

Some testers found the sliding mechanism a little finicky to use, however, and it’s easier to accidentally spill pills out of this case than with our other picks.

Good for both weekly and daily pill organization, this case is more durable and closes more securely than most organizers we tried. It’s huge, though—there’s no hiding this pill box.

May be out of stock

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.

Attractive and shiny, this model is the only pill organizer we like that doesn’t scream “I’m a pill box!” But we found it easier to accidentally spill pills with this case.

As an occasional caregiver for family members, I’ve doled out plenty of medications and relied on pill boxes to track what I’m doing. For this guide, I spoke with experts on caregiving, consulted with community centers for older adults, and pored over hundreds of online pill box reviews, as well as academic research on pill boxes and medication management.

Beyond offering convenience and keeping pills organized, a pill box can help anyone who takes medications, in a few crucial ways:

When you’re choosing a pill box for yourself or a loved one, think through the following questions to help you select the right model:

Your needs will most likely change over time, so if you want to purchase only one pill box, it may be prudent to buy a model that’s larger than you think you need.

If someone doles out your medication, it might be a good idea to involve them in the decision of which pill box to get.

Although most pharmacy pill bottles are child resistant, most pill boxes aren’t. If you are concerned about kids or anyone else getting into a pill box, invest in a model that either locks or allows you to monitor its contents (the only monitoring model we tried was the Med-E-Lert, which, unfortunately, we didn’t like).

In theory, a smart pill dispenser connected to your phone via an app can remind you or a loved one to take medication on schedule and monitor adherence. Unfortunately, the smart models we tried don’t live up to the hype. If 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.

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 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 looking for pill boxes to test, we wanted to find models that met the following criteria:

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 14 pill boxes, including two smart pill dispensers and an automatic model. I put most of them through an array of stress tests, bending back the hinges to see if they flexed without snapping and dropping them from counter height to see if they would break or pop open.

I also noted how easy each box was to open, taking into consideration the needs of folks who may have limited strength or dexterity in their hands. I scraped the markings on each box to see if they would come off. I tested whether each box was readily portable and if it accidentally opened while in transit. And I used the top four contenders for a week each during my own pill routine.

I tested pill boxes with members of the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging in Brooklyn, New York. I also asked my mom’s caregiver and my dad to test some of the pill boxes.

Finally, three Wirecutter staffers who take daily pills and have a diversity of pill box needs—including taking a lot of pills, taking pills at specific times throughout the day, needing something portable, and needing to be reminded to take pills—tested our top picks.

Wirecutter’s smart-home expert, senior staff writer Rachel Cericola, tested the smart and automatic pill dispensers. She evaluated the setup process, gauged the quality of the accompanying apps, and used each dispenser during her own routine.

Good for both weekly and daily pill organization, this case is more durable and closes more securely than most organizers we tried. It’s huge, though—there’s no hiding this pill box.

May be out of stock

Who it’s for: People who want a pill box that can hold a week’s worth of pills yet is flexible enough for daily transport.

It’s large enough to fit all your pills for the week. The Auvon iMedassist Moisture-Proof Weekly Pill Organizer consists of a section for each day of the week that can hold four daily doses. Some people we spoke with 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). Other organizers we tried that had fewer daily compartments were too small to hold a week’s worth of pills, especially for people who take a lot of medications. The individual compartments in the Auvon iMedassist model are also big enough to hold larger pills and supplements.

It’s easy to travel with. The smaller daily cases are removable, so if you’re going somewhere for a day, you can just take that day’s pills rather than taking the whole case. And if you’re traveling with the larger case, its sturdy latch makes spills unlikely. Most of the other organizers we tried aren’t quite as flexible. One of our panelists said, “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.”

It’s well made. Some pill boxes we tested had markings that rubbed off right away, but the Auvon iMedassist organizer’s markings are embedded in the plastic and withstood our efforts to scratch or remove them. Five separate hinges hold together the case, which seems designed to withstand many hours of opening and closing.

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.

Who it’s for: People with limited hand dexterity or strength who might have a hard time with a traditional pill box latch.

It’s easy to open. If dealing with a traditional clasp is an issue for you, the Auvon Weekly Pill Organizer with Spring Open Design might be the right choice. It’s designed to pop open when you push down on 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 did not rub off when we scraped them.

Attractive and shiny, this model is the only pill organizer we like that doesn’t scream “I’m a pill box!” But we found it easier to accidentally spill pills with this case.

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants a nicer-looking (and still functional) pill box and doesn’t mind paying a little more for it.

It’s good-looking, and it comes in multiple colors. Most pill organizers look like they belong in a hospital—and with them, there’s no hiding the fact that you’re using a pill box. In contrast, the Mimi Medcessories Pretty Pillbox 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.”

It has daily compartments, plus an extra. In addition to the usual one compartment per day, this model includes a small compartment for pills taken on an as-needed basis, unlike our other picks. It also slides open easily in either direction, revealing compartments for Saturday and Sunday on one side and Monday through Friday on the other.

It’s portable. Though this pill box is large enough to hold a week’s worth of pills, it’s still small enough to slide into a bag or purse.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-open pill box with two compartments per day: We really liked how simple the Ezy Dose AM/PM Weekly Pill Organizer was to open. It has two compartments per day that spring open in a similar fashion to those of the Auvon Weekly Pill Organizer with Spring Open Design, and 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 want a prettier pill box: With more than 11,000 followers on Instagram and raves on Reddit, Port and Polish definitely has a fanbase. 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.

If you need a pill box with Braille labels: Curiously, the only pill box we encountered with Braille was this Ezy Dose Weekly Pill Organizer—and with a price around $4.50, it was one of the cheapest models we saw at the time of our research. It comes in a variety of colors, and it seems fine as a basic option with only one compartment per day.

If you want a pill box with four compartments per day but find the labels on our top pick somewhat cryptic: The Sukuos Weekly Pill Organizer 7 Day (4 Times a Day) Case 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.

Although the Holii Daily Pill Organizer and the Kemaier Daily Pill Organizer are good-looking, neither is organized by the day of the week or labeled on its compartments, and the Kemaier box is often out of stock.

The Se7en-Day Weekly Pill Organizer is much like our top 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 Weekly Pill Organizer 7 Day (2 Times a Day) 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 Ellie Smart Pill Box was the best 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 battery-operated Med-E-Lert Automatic Pill Dispenser is quite large, and in our tests it was confusing to set up. The individual compartments are too small to fit larger vitamins or supplements, and it doesn’t offer a remote way of shutting it off, so if you are out of the house, the alarm will sound until you attend to it (though you can program it to flash a light instead of making a sound). That said, one caregiver we spoke with noted that this model was great for her particular situation, and some online reviews say that it works well for people living with dementia. It’s the only dispenser we tested that has a lock and key, which you must use to fully open it.

The Loba Smart Supplement Organizer 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.

The Hero is a subscription-based smart pill dispenser that has some rave reviews online for its ability to integrate remote care into the pill-dispensing process, but we decided against testing it because of its very high price tag, which includes a one-time initiation fee of about $100, a monthly fee ranging from $30 to $45 depending on the plan you choose, and a one-year minimum commitment.

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

Amy Goyer, national family and caregiving expert, AARP, phone interview, April 27, 2023

Laura Thielen, data manager, Park Slope Center for Successful Aging, Brooklyn, New York, in-person interview, February 23, 2023

Aisha Biggs, caregiver, in-person interview, January 2023

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