CountPillCount the pills left in a bottle, without counting one by one
For caregivers and anyone keeping track of medication at home: tip the pills onto a plate, take a photo, and see how many are left and how long they will last.
How to count a bottle in under a minute
- Tip the pills onto a clean plate, ideally a plain one in a colour that contrasts with the pills. Do one medicine at a time.
- Spread them into one layer with a spoon or a card, so no pill sits on another.
- Open the free pill counter on your phone, tap Choose photo and take a picture from straight above.
- Look over the dots, tap to fix anything it got wrong, then put the pills straight back in their own bottle.
The photo is counted on your phone and never uploaded, so the label and the medicine stay private.
Why count at home?
- To know when to reorder. A count plus the daily dose tells you exactly when the bottle runs out. Use the days supply calculator to get the date.
- To check a new bottle. Pharmacies are very accurate, but a short fill does happen. Counting when it arrives settles it while it's easy to raise.
- To see if doses are being missed or doubled. If there are more pills left than there should be, doses may be getting skipped. Fewer, and some may be taken twice. Either is worth a conversation with the doctor or pharmacist.
- To share care. When several family members help, a quick count keeps everyone on the same page.
Good habits when handling medication
- Wash and dry your hands, and use a dry plate: moisture can damage some tablets.
- Count one medicine at a time and never mix pills from different bottles.
- Put pills back in their original, labelled bottle right away.
- Keep children and pets away while pills are out.
- CountPill counts; it does not identify pills. If you're unsure what a tablet is, ask the pharmacist.
Counting for someone every week?
The CountPill iPhone app keeps a history of every count with its photo, so you can see how the supply changed from week to week, and exports a PDF to share with family or the care team.
Questions
Why count pills at home?
To know when a refill is due, to check a new bottle holds what the label says, and to notice if doses are being missed or doubled.
Is it safe to tip pills out of the bottle?
Use a clean, dry plate or tray, keep different medicines apart, and put them back in their own bottle straight after. Don't mix pills from different bottles.
Can I see how many days the pills will last?
Yes. Use the free days supply calculator: enter the count and the dose, and it gives the number of days and the date they run out.
The CountPill iPhone app · coming soon
Counting pills every day? The app keeps the record.
- Live count from the camera, with a level so you shoot straight down.
- Rx quantity check: "Need 4 more", "Matches" or "2 too many", as you count.
- Stock-bottle barcode and Rx label reading to catch the wrong bottle.
- Double counts for controlled drugs, with both counts kept.
- History, search, and PDF and CSV reports with photos, lot, expiry and initials.
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