How to pick a giveaway winner
- Copy your entries. That can be a list of names, a column from a spreadsheet, or comments copied from your post.
- Paste them into the entry box.
- If you pasted comments, press Keep @names only. The wheel keeps one line for each @name it finds and drops the rest of the text.
- Press Remove duplicates so each person has one entry. Skip this step if your rules allow extra entries.
- Press Spin. The winner shows in a pop-up.
It works the same way for a raffle at a school fair or a club night. Type in the ticket numbers or the names on the stubs, and spin.
One entry per person, or more?
Decide this before you start, and put it in your giveaway rules. If each person gets one entry, remove duplicates. If people can earn extra entries, for example by tagging a friend, keep each valid entry as its own line. Someone with three entries then has three slices and three times the chance.
Write clear rules
Good giveaway rules answer the common questions before anyone asks them: how to enter, when entries close, who can enter, how many entries each person gets, how the winner is picked and announced, and how long the winner has to reply. Saying up front that the winner is picked at random with a spinning wheel also tells people the draw will be fair.
Be open about the draw
Followers trust a giveaway more when they can see it happen:
- Record your screen while you spin, or spin live on camera.
- Press Full screen so the wheel and the winner are big and clear.
- Show the full list before you spin. A share link lets anyone check the same entries.
- Post the result with the date and time from the Results tab.
Pick backup winners
Winners do not always reply. After the first spin, press Remove and spin again to pick a second and a third name, in order. If your first winner does not claim the prize in the time your rules give, contact the next one. The Results tab keeps the order for you.
Check the rules first
Giveaways have rules. Social apps have their own rules for contests, and many places have laws about prize draws, for example about who may enter and whether people must pay to take part. Check the rules that apply to you before you start. This tool picks a random entry; it cannot make a giveaway follow the rules.
Fair and private
Every entry has the same chance, picked with your browser’s secure random numbers. Your list stays in your browser and is never uploaded to us. Picking names for something other than a giveaway? The random name picker is set up for everyday lists.