Spin the Wheel – Random Name Picker
Type names or options, one per line, and spin the wheel to pick a random winner. Remove the winner for the next round, share your wheel with a link, or show it full screen in class. Fair, free, and it runs in your browser.
Winners (this visit)
How to use the wheel spinner
- Type or paste your names, prizes or options in the box, one per line. The wheel changes while you type. You can paste a column straight from Excel or Google Sheets.
- Click Spin, the middle of the wheel, or the wheel itself. The wheel turns and slows down, and the name under the pointer at the top is the winner. It is also written in large letters under the wheel.
- Click Remove from wheel to take the winner off for the next round, or tick Remove each winner before the next spin to do it every time.
- Use Full screen to show the wheel on a projector or a shared screen, and Copy link to send the same wheel to someone else.
Your list and settings stay in this browser, so the wheel is still there next time. The list of winners under the options shows every result of this visit with the time, which helps when you run a live giveaway.
Is the wheel fair?
Yes. The winner is decided before the wheel starts to move. The page picks one slice with crypto.getRandomValues, the cryptographically secure random generator of your browser, and uses rejection sampling, so no slice gets even a tiny extra chance. Then it turns the wheel a few full times and stops it at a random spot inside that slice. The way the wheel slows down is only the show; it cannot change the result.
All slices have the same size, so with 8 names each name has a 1 in 8 chance (12.5%). A name that is written on two lines has two slices and twice the chance. Click Remove duplicates if every person should have exactly one chance.
The wheel never looks at earlier results. If a name wins twice in a row, that is normal luck: with 8 names it happens once in 8 spins on average.
Ideas for the wheel
| Use | How |
|---|---|
| Pick a student | Paste the class list. Tick Remove each winner so everyone gets a turn before anyone is picked again. |
| Giveaway winner | Paste the names from the comments, click Remove duplicates, and spin in full screen while you record the screen or stream. |
| Presentation or play order | Spin until the wheel is empty with Remove each winner, or click Shuffle to get the whole order at once. |
| Split into teams | Use the Random Team Generator to put the whole list into random teams or pairs in one click. |
| Yes or no decision | Click Yes / No. Each answer has a 50% chance. |
| What to eat, what to watch | Click What to eat or type your own options, such as films or games. |
| Chores, prizes, truth or dare | One task or prize per line. Write the common ones twice to make them more likely. |
Need many winners at once, or a list with thousands of lines? The list mode of the Random Number Generator picks any number of different winners in one click.
Frequently asked questions
How do I pick a random name with the wheel?
Type or paste the names in the box, one name per line. The wheel updates while you type. Then click Spin (or the middle of the wheel). When the wheel stops, the name under the pointer at the top is the winner, and it is also shown under the wheel.
Is the wheel spinner really random, or can it be rigged?
The winner is chosen before the wheel starts to turn, with crypto.getRandomValues, the secure random generator of your browser, using rejection sampling so that every slice has exactly the same chance. The animation then turns the wheel so that it stops on that slice. There is no setting that makes one name win more often, except writing the same name on more than one line.
How do I remove the winner after each spin?
After a spin, click Remove under the winner to take that name off the wheel. To do this every time, tick Remove each winner before the next spin. This is useful for a presentation order or a giveaway with several prizes, because nobody can win twice.
Can I give one option a bigger chance?
Yes. Write it on more than one line. Every line is its own slice with the same size, so a name that is written 3 times on a wheel of 10 lines has a 3 in 10 chance. If you want each name only once, click Remove duplicates.
How many names can the wheel hold?
Up to 1,000 lines. With more than about 100 slices the names become too small to read on the wheel, but the winner is still shown in large text under it. To pick several winners at once from a long list, use the list mode of the Random Number Generator.
Can I save or share my wheel?
Your names are kept in this browser, so the wheel is still there when you come back. Click Copy link to get a link that contains the names. Anyone who opens the link sees the same wheel. The names are inside the link itself, so do not share a link with private names.
Are my names sent to a server?
No. The wheel runs in your browser with JavaScript. The names are only stored in this browser (localStorage) and in a link if you choose to copy one. Nothing is uploaded.