6 Best Kids' Lunchboxes

At the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, we’ve tested more than 50 lunchboxes and bags over the past eight years. Our evaluations consider:

✔️ Ease of use: Adults—plus a 6-year-old and a 5-year-old—opened and closed each box and bag to see how easy they were to handle. (The 5-year-old found zippered, soft-sided bags easier than latched, rigid boxes.) We also tried packing different amounts of food in each.

✔️ Durability: We dropped each lunchbox to check whether it stayed closed and tested for staining. While all of the lunchboxes in this story can be cleaned, those with smooth plastic or metal interiors proved easiest to wipe clean.

✔️ Performance: Our testers add an apple, a juice box, a sandwich, and an ice pack to each lunch bag before performing a temperature-evaluation test (pictured) to determine how long each can maintain a safe temperature over six hours. (Our best overall pick performed the best in this test.) We also added two tablespoons of apple juice to assess leak resistance.

✔️ Real-world experience: In addition to Lab testing, we surveyed consumers, analyzed retailer reviews, and gathered feedback from kids and parents in our own lives to ensure our findings reflected real use.

✔️ Type of lunchbox: You have choices!

• A bento box is a hard-sided plastic or stainless steel box with small compartments inside. You can tuck a different food into each compartment, and when your child opens up the box, all the food is displayed and ready for grabbing. You can put a bento box directly into a backpack or store it in a bag, so if there are any leaks, you're covered.

• A lunchbox with semi-firm sides is more traditional. Nylon and polyester bags are lightweight, open with a zipper, and pack flat when empty. They are often the easiest for kids to open. However, you may need to fill them with food containers, which means kids will have some unpacking to do. Many of these have built-in insulation to help keep food warm or cool.

• A lunch bag is a reusable version of the old brown bag, often with added insulation. We don't have any on this list, but they do appear when discussing the best lunchboxes for adults. A lunch bag is best carried separately (because it can get squished), and since most kids need to fit their lunch in a book bag, cubby, or locker, we've left them off the kids' list.

✔️ Storage needs: The kind of food you intend to send to school helps dictate your lunchbox. If you want to send your kid off with yogurt or warm mac and cheese, you might want a lunchbox with a built-in container, or one that can fit your favorite food storage container. If you know you'll be sending a drink each day, it's nice to have a lunchbox that can carry a water bottle on the side. Inside pockets can hold items such as pocket money or napkins.

✔️ Insulation: An insulated lunch box helps keep food warm or cool. If you know you want to keep food cool, having a mesh pocket and an ice pack is a smart choice. If you're using a bento box, consider placing it in a bag with an ice pack.

✔️ Your child's age: The fewer steps required to open a lunchbox, the quicker a small child can start eating. Have your child practice opening and closing the lunchbox at home before sending it to school with them.

✔️ Weight and size: Consider whether the lunchbox fits in your child's backpack or if you'll need a separate tote. If your child has a short walk or is driven to school, the size and weight of a lunchbox may be less of a concern for you.

✔️ Materials: Stainless steel is durable, plastic-free, and easy to clean in the sink or dishwasher, though it is the heaviest lunchbox material. A rigid plastic bento box is lighter and usually dishwasher-safe. Many fabric lunchboxes can be washed in the sink or placed on the top rack of a dishwasher, but they require some time to air dry.

The Good Housekeeping Institute has been testing consumer products for over 100 years, and our experts specialize in everything families need for the back-to-school season.

Lead reviewer Nicole Papantoniou directs the Kitchen Appliances Lab, overseeing all testing related to cooking products, including lunchboxes. She has been testing cooking tools, gadgets, gear, and appliances since 2019, often involving her family members. Trained in classic culinary arts, Papantoniou is also a professional recipe developer.

This guide was written by Jessica Hartshorn, a mom of two and a former editor at Parents magazine. A contributing writer for GH, she brings decades of experience evaluating products for babies and children, including back-to-school gear.