The synthesis of calix[4]arene-based molecular containers 1 and 2 along with the thermodynamic behaviors of cation binding are reported. The containers encapsulated N-methylpicolinium salts to form 1:1 host–guest complexes in chloroform. The thermodynamic investigations of the containers provide contrastive pictures for the process of their guest encapsulations. The encapsulation of 1 with the N-methylpicolinium