The Very Best Nice-Looking Pill Cases

Number of compartments: Seven | Labels: Monday through Sunday | Access: Seven lids | Extras: None

This pill organizer has the same number of compartments as the Port and Polish above, but goes for about half the price. You’ll notice the price varies by color, but whether you choose a colorful option (including olive green, navy blue, teal, and rosy pink) or go with a neutral, the case will cost about the same as one you might pick up at, say, a Duane Reade. And while it’s not as discreet as the Port and Polish, this case, with its matte exterior and round shape, is still a step up from your average drugstore pill case.

When I tested the case out for a week, I found that the compartments were easy enough to open with one finger and sturdy enough to stay closed while the case sat loose in my backpack on days I was in the office. Jess Pouncy, an artist and educator who has been using the case since August, told me the case has never spilled in her bag and is easy to find thanks to its bright color (hers is green). She attributes the case’s durability to its rubbery material and the fact that the compartments open on the inside rather than the outside. Though this makes the case slightly more difficult to fill up, I think it’s worth the sacrifice for the reassurance that your pills won’t spill in your bag, even if you’re traveling or taking the case with you to work. As for the size of each compartment, Pouncy says she has no problem fitting up to seven pills, including larger vitamins, but the brand says it can hold about 25 small pills or ten capsules.

Number of compartments: 14 | Labels: Monday through Sunday | Access: 14 lids | Extras: None

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 used this cute muted pink-and-beige pill-organizer set for about a year to stay on top of her morning and night medications. She recently upgraded to a larger case to fit more pills, but she recommends this Amazon 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 case 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.

Number of compartments: 28 | Labels: Monday through Sunday, Morning, Noon, Evening, Night | Access: 28 lids | Extras: Outer hard case

This is the most extensive pill organizer I put on this list, and it’s fitted with all the labels. Within the chic storage case (which comes in a variety of colors and patterns, including tortoiseshell and toile), 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. Since Connelly upgraded to this case, she’s found that it’s durable, dropproof, and actually nice to look at. In fact, she doesn’t even think of it as a pill case. “I just think of it as a pretty box,” she told me, adding that it’s the first pill case that she’s kept out on her counter.

Chronic-illness coach, blogger, and podcaster Nat Kelley owns the padded travel version of the case and also 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.

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.

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.

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, and the colorful cases from Pill Joy are the most fun ones I’ve found. The creation of artist Thredd Tenenbaum, the cases are available in a few different formats, but I’m partial to this round case for its practical yet aesthetically pleasing shape that’s similar to our best less expensive pick above. “There’s something for everybody,” says Elle Billing, an artist and creator of the Hoorf! podcast who has been using one of the a.m./p.m. cases for a couple of years. “Everything from just the small single base pill container up to my XL.” After using the case regularly since she purchased it, Billing says it is holding up well, with all the compartment lids, labels, and decorations still intact. Plus, it adds a bit of joy to her day. “If I have to look at it every day, I may as well enjoy it,” she says. “It reminds me of how my friends who use mobility aids will have sparkly canes, or when I was teaching the deaf and hard-of-hearing students, they would get sparkly ear molds,” she adds.