Short answer: most boxes hold 20 or 25 cigars, and 10- and 24-count boxes are common too. When we counted every box size in our online catalog in October 2026, 38% of the 853 box listings were boxes of 20, 22% boxes of 25, 15% boxes of 10 and 12% boxes of 24. Twenty-five is the traditional count. Cigar Aficionado notes that U.S. laws in 1865 required cigars to be packed in wooden boxes of 25, 50, 100 or 250.
What we counted
In October 2026, we tallied every cigar in our online catalog sold by the box: 853 box listings across 825 cigars; 597 of those listings were in stock then. The counts are the box sizes as listed in our catalog, and we left out two listings sold as boxes of 20 packs.
| Box size | Box listings | Share | In stock, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box of 20 | 320 | 37.5% | 212 |
| Box of 25 | 192 | 22.5% | 143 |
| Box of 10 | 124 | 14.5% | 82 |
| Box of 24 | 105 | 12.3% | 89 |
| Every other size, from 3 to 50 | 112 | 13.1% | 71 |
| Total | 853 | 100% | 597 |
Four sizes, 10, 20, 24 and 25, account for 87% of the listings. The rest include boxes of 8, 12, 18, 26, 30, 40 and 50.
Who uses which count, in our catalog
- Boxes of 20: led by My Father (63 listings), Rocky Patel (40), Drew Estate (25), La Flor Dominicana (22), Diamond Crown (20) and AVO (20).
- Boxes of 25: led by Arturo Fuente (51 listings), Prometheus (15), Drew Estate (15) and Ashton (14).
- Boxes of 24: led by Drew Estate (30 listings, including the Liga Privada No. 9), Rocky Patel (16) and Oliva (10).
- Boxes of 10: led by Drew Estate (30 listings), Padrón (25, mostly Family Reserve and 1926 Serie sizes), Oliva (20) and Prometheus (13).
Why 25, and why so many 20s?
The 25-count box is the old standard. Cigar Aficionado's glossary says U.S. laws in 1865 required wooden boxes of 25, 50, 100 or 250, and it calls the flat "Thirteen Topper," with 13 cigars over 12, the most popular box today. Tobacconist University still describes boxes as usually holding 25.
Today there is no single standard, as Stogie Review put it in 2016. halfwheel notes that boxes of 20 and 25 let makers lay cigars in rows of five, that a 10-count box ends up costing more per cigar to pack, and that bigger boxes cut down on shipping costs. Makers change counts for their own reasons:
- Alec Bradley moved from 20 to 24, which it said would save it from raising prices in 2021 (halfwheel).
- Gurkha cut its Heritage lines to boxes of 15 to make them more affordable for retailers and smokers (halfwheel).
- Perdomo moved its 30th Anniversary line from 30 to 20 to help retailers sell through it (halfwheel).
- Drew Estate cut the Liga Privada Papas Fritas from 50 to 25 so it would be easier to buy a box (halfwheel).
- In 2012, Cigar Aficionado quoted the company behind La Riqueza calling the 10-count box "a heavy trend right now" as the brand moved from boxes of 25 to 10, and in 2007 it reported that Padrón had moved to boxes of 26 when it changed its box wood from cedar.
Box counts of well-known cigars
| Cigar | Box count | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Padrón 1964 Anniversary | Most sizes 25; the A 10, the Torpedo 20, and the Presidente and Soberano 15 in square tubes | Padrón |
| Padrón Thousand Series | 26 | Our catalog |
| Arturo Fuente Hemingway | 25 for the Short Story, Best Seller, Signature, Work of Art and Classic; 10 for the Masterpiece | Cigars International listing; our catalog agrees |
| Liga Privada No. 9 | 24; the Flying Pig 12 | Cigars International and halfwheel; our catalog agrees |
| Davidoff Signature 2000 | 25 or 10, plus 20 tubos | Davidoff |
| Oliva Serie V Melanio | 10 | Cigars International listing; our catalog agrees |
| Cohiba Behike (Cuba) | A lacquered box of 10 | Habanos S.A. |
| Montecristo Petit No. 2 (Cuba) | 25 or 10 | Habanos S.A. |
Box styles and other ways cigars are packed
- Dress box: a wood or cardboard box finished with decorative embossed paper, which Cigar Aficionado calls the most common type of cigar box. Habanos S.A. says Cuba was first to introduce the classic labeled box in the mid-19th century.
- 8-9-8: a box with curved sides holding three rows, 8, 9 and 8, for 25 cigars. Habanos S.A. says it also comes as a 3-4-3 for 10.
- Cabinet (slide-lid box): a wooden box with a sliding top. Cigar Aficionado says it holds 25 or 50, often tied with a ribbon; Habanos S.A. lists 10, 25 or 50.
- Semi Boîte Nature (SBN): a plain cedar box with two rear hinges and a brooch-style clasp, per Cigar Aficionado. Habanos S.A. packs SBN boxes in 5, 10, 12, 24 or 25.
- Bundle: cigars wrapped together without a box. Cigar Aficionado says a bundle usually holds 25 or 50 and is usually less expensive than boxed cigars; JR Cigars puts bundles at 10 to 50.
- Half wheel and wheel: a 50-cigar bundle is a half wheel, or media rueda, and Cigar Aficionado defines a wheel as a bundle of 100.
- 5-pack and sampler: a 5-pack is five of one cigar; JR Cigars describes a sampler as anywhere from three to 50 cigars, often of different kinds. See our cigar samplers.
Does the box matter for aging?
Cigar Aficionado says some smokers feel cigars kept in their original boxes inside a humidor benefit most with age, and that collectors often age cigars in boxes to keep like cigars together. It adds a caution: a very large box holding few cigars can let them take on too much humidity. Cigar Aficionado suggests removing the cellophane if you plan to age cigars, and its glossary notes that cigar-box cedar is Spanish cedar, or cedrela, not aromatic cedar. Some connoisseurs prefer cabinets for aging because there is more room for air to circulate, though Cigar Inspector calls those advantages somewhat hypothetical.
Packing affects shape, too. Cigar Aficionado defines box-pressed as the slightly squared look cigars take on when packed tightly in a box; see our box-pressed cigars.
Single, 5-pack or box?
Most cigars we sell online come as a single, a 5-pack or a box, and every cigar we offer by the box is on our cigar boxes page. Our guide How Much Are Cigars? compares what each costs, and our storage guide covers keeping a full box fresh. Pictured: the Padrón Black 99 Natural, sold in boxes of 10.
$9.99 flat shipping, free on orders of $125 or more.
Frequently asked questions
How many cigars are in a box?
Usually 20 or 25. In our online catalog in October 2026, 38% of box listings were boxes of 20, 22% boxes of 25, 15% boxes of 10 and 12% boxes of 24.
Why do cigar boxes hold 25?
Twenty-five is the traditional count. Cigar Aficionado notes that U.S. laws in 1865 required cigars to be packed in wooden boxes of 25, 50, 100 or 250 cigars.
How many cigars are in a box of Padrón?
Padrón lists most 1964 Anniversary sizes in boxes of 25, with a few in 10, 15 or 20. In our catalog, the Padrón Thousand Series comes in boxes of 26, and every Family Reserve size and several 1926 Serie sizes come in boxes of 10.
How many cigars are in a box of Arturo Fuente Hemingway?
Most Hemingway sizes come in boxes of 25; the Masterpiece comes in boxes of 10.
How many cigars are in a box of Liga Privada No. 9?
24, except the Flying Pig, which comes in boxes of 12.
What is a cabinet box?
A wooden box with a sliding lid. Cigar Aficionado says it holds 25 or 50 cigars, often tied with a ribbon, and Habanos S.A. also makes cabinets of 10.
What is an 8-9-8 box?
A box with curved sides that holds 25 cigars in three rows of 8, 9 and 8. Habanos S.A. also makes a 3-4-3 version for 10.
How many cigars are in a bundle?
Cigar Aficionado says a bundle usually holds 25 or 50; JR Cigars puts bundles at 10 to 50. A 50-cigar bundle is a half wheel, and a wheel holds 100.
Do cigars age better in the box?
Cigar Aficionado says some smokers feel cigars kept in their original boxes inside a humidor benefit most with age, but warns that in a very large box holding few cigars, the cigars can take on too much humidity.
Sources: our online catalog, counted in October 2026; Cigar Aficionado glossary ("Box," "Cabinet Selection," "Semi Boîte Nature," "Bundle," "Box-Pressed," "Cedar," "Cellophane"), "The ABCs of Cigars" (January/February 2021), "Padróns Now Come in Boxes of 26" (February 2007), "La Riqueza Brand Gets New Packaging" (October 2012), "Top 10 Most Asked Questions About Cigars" (July 2010) and "How Does Aging a Cigar Affect the Taste?" (January 2017); Tobacconist University; Stogie Review, "Cigar Boxes and Identity Crises" (April 2016); halfwheel, "Ask halfwheel: Why Aren't There More 10-Count Boxes?", its Liga Privada No. 9 Corona Viva listing and reports on Alec Bradley, Gurkha, Perdomo and Liga Privada Papas Fritas packaging; Habanos S.A., "Styles of Presentation," "Dressing the Box" and product announcements (2010, 2013); Padrón, 1964 Anniversary Series; Davidoff, Signature 2000; Cigars International product listings; JR Cigars, cigar packaging and sampler guides (2015, 2021); Cigar Inspector, "Are Cabinet Selections Superior to Dress Boxes?" (August 2022).
