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As a daily pill-taker, I’ve learned that the phrase “Out of sight, out of mind” holds all too true when it comes to staying on top of my medications. A pill case that looks and feels nice enough that you want to keep it visible can help you stay on track with critical medications and keep your pills from getting crushed while possibly also making pill-taking more pleasant.
To help you find the pill case that works best for you, I talked to a panel of design-minded pill-takers, consulted the pill-takers I know, and dug into our archives to find the best actually nice-looking pill cases out there, whether you’re taking a single vitamin or several different medications every day.
Update on December 16, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
What we’re looking for
Number of compartments
If you’re storing Advil for the occasional headache, you probably don’t need a case with seven separate compartments. But if you have a variety of medications that you take multiple times throughout the day, more compartments will help. I included pill organizers ranging from single compartment cases to organizers with multiple slots for every day of the week.
Labels
At a bare minimum, a labeled pill case should have slots for each day of the week. Depending on how many times a day you take pills, you should look for cases that have additional labels for pill-taking periods, such as a.m. and p.m. or noon and evening. These labels serve as a useful reminder of whether or not you’ve taken which pills you need on any given day. Some pill cases come with customizable labels (in case you’d rather sort your pills by type instead of day).
Access
Traditional pill organizers have individual lids that pop open. While there are plenty of those in our roundup, I’ve also included others that have twist-off tops or sliding lids.
Extras
Some of the pill organizers come with added features such as mirrors, a protective outer case, and more. If there are any features that are useful, I’ll highlight them.
Best pill organizer overall
Number of compartments: Seven | Labels: Monday through Sunday | Access: Seven lids | Extras: Mirror
The Port and Polish is a lightweight and good-looking alternative to what you’d normally find in the drugstore pill-organizer section. It’s available in a number of colors, including a sleek black and soothing lilac. I tested the light-pink one and found that the satin-smooth case looked right at home next to my jewelry catchall on my nightstand. I take most of my pills at night and have a tendency to forget about them about once a week. This one was so pleasing to look at that I never forgot to take my pills during the week that I tested it out. Strategist writer Arielle Avila also tested the case and reports, “It’s compact enough to throw in a bag without adding much bulk, and the mirror came in handy more than I thought it would for makeup touch-ups while out and about.”
Inside the case, there are seven lidded, labeled compartments that each fit approximately ten small capsules or four large pills. You can switch the order of the lids as you please, which is helpful if you’d like to start your pills on Sunday, Monday, or the first day of your vacation. Strategist deals editor Sam Daly has owned the charcoal-gray case for four years and says she initially bought it “because it was very discreet-looking, and I stand by that — it could almost pass for a makeup compact.” It only ever popped open when she overstuffed it, but she says you can remove the lids if you want to fit even more pills in the organizer. Over the years, she has taken it on “many trips, whether it’s a cross-country flight home or a birthday-weekend road trip. It’s stood up well.”
Best less expensive pill organizer
Number of compartments: Seven | Labels: None | Access: Seven lids | Extras: Magnetic closure
Here’s a pill organizer with the same amount of compartments as above but at about half the price. It doesn’t come pre-labeled like the Port and Polish, but Strategist contributor Alyse Whitney recommends using neon stickers that you can customize with the days of the week or the names of your medications. She calls the organizer her “Mary Poppins Medicine Cabinet because it is small — a little larger than a deck of cards — but mighty, housing an array of neatly organized, over-the-counter drugs including ibuprofen, Imodium, Lactaid, various allergy meds, Midol, and a few vitamins and supplements.” And not only is it convenient enough for carrying around a mini pharmacy, it’s “so incognito that I have never been stopped at a concert, airport, or anywhere else where someone rustles through your bag,” she writes. Its compartments come in three sizes: four small (one inch by two inches), two medium (1.5 inches by two inches), and one larger section (three inches by two inches), which Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio says “is big enough to hold Band-Aids or Q-tips and a tube of Neosporin, if you prefer.” Trolio adds, “I appreciate how it folds in on itself and the ‘wings’ stay closed magnetically to keep everything secure.” Although Whitney and Trolio use the case for bringing medicine on the go, it could easily work as an organizer for daily pills and supplements.
Best two-a-day pill organizer
Number of compartments: 14 | Labels: Monday through Sunday | Access: Seven lids | Extras: Outer hard case
While the Port and Polish pick comes in a version with a.m.-p.m. compartments, after testing that option I think this one is better if you need clearer divisions between your daytime and nighttime doses. Chronic-disease advocate Katie Connelly has been using this cute muted pink-and-beige pill-organizer set for about a year to stay on top of her morning and night medications. She’s planning on upgrading to this three-a-day organizer to fit more pills, but she recommends the Yite case to anyone who is a “big traveler and doesn’t have too many big pills that they’re taking. They would be able to utilize it and fill it up.” It’s also ideal for taking pills at home because it has lids that are easy to snap on and off, making refills less tedious. Unlike her previous pill organizer, this one doesn’t leave a plastic-y taste on her pills. She attributes this to the material: The Yite is made of plastic too, but she says it’s higher quality and more substantial. It’s worth noting that Connelly says sometimes the lids pop off, so if you’re planning on traveling with the case, it’s best to put it in a bag so you don’t lose any pills.
Best four-a-day pill organizer
Number of compartments: 28 | Labels: Monday through Sunday, Morning, Noon, Evening, Night | Access: 28 lids | Extras: Outer soft case
This is the most extensive pill organizer I put on this list, and it’s fitted with all the labels. Within the chic customizable travel case (which comes in a variety of colors, such as a jewel-tone purple and metallic blue, and can also be monogrammed), there are seven removable compartments labeled with the days of the week. Within each of those are four labeled sub-compartments designated for morning, noon, evening, and night. Chronic-illness coach, blogger, and podcaster Nat Kelley leaves hers out during the day because she thinks it’s cute and says, as a consequence, “I feel like I’m so much more on top of actually filling it every week.” She can fit at least 40 pills in the organizer and uses the Day Tripper case if she wants to bring only one compartment when she’s staying overnight somewhere.
Best compact pill organizer
Number of compartments: Three | Labels: None | Access: Twist-off | Extras: Key chain
A compact pill organizer is best if you don’t take pills on a consistent basis but still need a place to put emergency medications for, say, a headache or seasonal allergies. This one is waterproof, made of durable aluminum, connects to a carabiner or key chain, and doesn’t have any pop-off lids, so you can throw it in your bag without worrying about it spilling everywhere. Although this case is our favorite for its durability and ruggedness, it’s a bit more utilitarian than others on this list. If you’d prefer a less industrial-looking option, Mimi Medcessories makes a rather pretty, yet more pricey, hexagonal pill case that has three compartments and a transparent lid, so you can easily keep track of when it’s time to refill your portable medicine cabinet.
Best single-compartment pill case
Number of compartments: One | Labels: None | Access: One lid
On the other side of the pillbox spectrum are single-compartment cases, which are best for people who just need to store one kind of pill or vitamin. One of the most cheerful options I found was this pea-pod-shaped case that Strategist senior editor Kiki Aranita has been using for over a decade. “It has lived at the bottom of my purse for all that time, and it has never spilled,” she says, so it’s “perfect for purse Advil, weekend-trip vitamins, and a life of chaos.”
Best travel pill organizer
Number of compartments: One | Labels: Customizable | Access: Twist-off | Extras: Magnetic
Although many cases on this list are suitable for travel, especially if you keep yours in a sealed bag, I found the Cadence was best for packing for a trip because it’s truly spillproof. Each capsule twists open individually, and they’re tight enough that they won’t open on their own. I also like how customizable this option is: You can buy the Cadence Pillcase set, which includes seven labels for the days of the week, or buy the number of containers you need and customize them accordingly. Then, rather than bringing an entire pill case when you head out for the day (or evening), you can bring just one canister.
Beauty-and-wellness content creator Iman Ogundeko is another fan and uses the smallest container for her vitamins and a larger container for her jewelry. Best of all, since each canister is magnetic, it’s easy to keep multiple containers connected together in your suitcase.
Best smart pill organizer
Number of compartments: Seven | Labels: None | Access: Sliding top | Extras: Connects to app
If you need a little extra motivation to take your pills every day, I’d recommend investing in a smart pill organizer. It connects to an easy-to-use app that notifies you whenever it’s time to take your pills. Before testing this pill organizer, I just relied on my Reminders app to stay on top of my pills. I found the EllieGrid notifications to be more effective because they’re linked to weekly adherence tracking in the app. (The try-hard student in me couldn’t bear scoring less than 100 percent.)
Although it took some initial troubleshooting to figure out the ins and outs of the device, I found it fairly simple to use: After inputting your medications in the app and noting the frequency, amount, and time you take them, the pill box will show which pills and how many you need to take with correlated light-up dots. Instead of keeping track of how many pills you need to take and when, the app does it all for you.
It is much more expensive than the other cases listed, but it’s the only one that connects to an app. And it’s worth noting it’s a bit larger. It has seven compartments — four smaller ones that can each fit an entire bottle of small pills and three larger compartments that can each fit seven large pills.
Most delightful pill case
Number of compartments: Seven | Labels: Monday through Sunday | Access: Seven lids
A whimsical pill case can take some of the drudgery out of your pill-taking routine. “I like that this organizer reminds me of sweetheart candies, making something terrible (remembering what pills to take) much more delightful,” says Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla. “It’s a can’t-miss shape, and the lettering is big, so I can see what day I’m on easily — or quickly catch up if I missed a day.” You can stuff it with up to 20 tablets, and in the five months that she’s had it, Pardilla says the labels are still going strong.
Some more pill cases we’ve written about
Our experts
• Kiki Aranita, Strategist senior editor
• Sam Daly, Strategist deals editor
• Katie Connelly, chronic-disease advocate
• Nat Kelley, chronic-illness coach, blogger, and podcaster
• Iman Ogundeko, wellness content creator
• Ambar Pardilla, Strategist writer
• Jen Trolio, Strategist senior editor
• Alyse Whitney, Strategist contributor
Additional reporting by Arielle Avila.
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