Wheel Spinner: Spin the Wheel to Pick a Random Name
Type names or options, one per line, and spin a wheel to pick a fair random winner. Remove the winner after each spin, pick several at once or shuffle the list. Up to 200 entries.
Press Spin to pick a winner.
About the Wheel Spinner
The Wheel Spinner picks a random winner from any list you type. Put one name, prize, task or option on each line, press Spin, and the wheel turns and stops with the pointer on the winner, who is announced underneath. Teachers use it to choose who answers next, streamers and shops to run giveaways, teams to decide who presents first in a meeting, and families to settle what to have for dinner.
The wheel holds from 2 to 200 entries. Each line is trimmed and blank lines are ignored, so you can paste a column straight from a spreadsheet. A name that appears twice gets two segments and twice the chance of winning, which is an easy way to weight an entry. To draw one item without a wheel, the List Editor has a random item picker; for numbers, use the Random Number Generator.
How to use it
Spin
- Type or paste the entries, one per line, in Items, one per line.
- Press Spin. The button is disabled until the wheel stops.
- Read the winner under the wheel. Switch on Remove winner after spin to take each winner off the list, so the next spin picks from those who are left.
Pick several and shuffle
Type a number under How many to pick and press Pick to draw that many different entries at once, in the order they were drawn. Press Shuffle to put the whole list in a random order, for example to set a turn order or a running order.
How the winner is chosen
The winner is chosen before the wheel moves. With entries, the tool draws a whole number from 0 to from your browser's cryptographic random generator, using rejection sampling so that no entry is favoured. Every entry therefore has the same chance:
The wheel then turns five to eight full turns and stops at a random point inside the winner's segment, so the animation shows a result that is already fixed and can never change it. Pick several shuffles the list with the Fisher–Yates method and takes the first entries, so each possible group is equally likely. If your device asks for reduced motion, the wheel shows its final position straight away and announces the winner at once.
Tips
For a fair raffle, paste the full entry list and spin once with everyone watching. To run a draw for several prizes, switch on Remove winner after spin so nobody wins twice. For tabletop games, the Dice Roller rolls dice from notation such as 3d6+2, and for a two-way choice the Coin Flipper is quicker.
Privacy
Nothing is uploaded; every calculation runs in your browser and never leaves your device. The names you type stay on this page and are gone when you close or reload it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the wheel spinner really random?
Yes. The winner is drawn from your browser's cryptographic random generator before the wheel starts to move, with rejection sampling so every entry has exactly the same chance. The animation only shows the result.
How many names can I put on the wheel?
From 2 to 200 entries, one per line. Blank lines are ignored and spaces around each name are trimmed. A name typed twice gets two segments, so it is twice as likely to win.
Can I remove a name after it wins?
Yes. Switch on Remove winner after spin and the winning entry is taken off the list when the wheel stops, which is handy for turn orders, raffles and classroom picks.
How do I pick several winners at once?
Type how many you need under Pick several and press Pick. The tool draws that many different entries from the list in a random order, so nobody is picked twice.
Does the wheel spin if I prefer reduced motion?
If your device asks for reduced motion, the wheel jumps straight to its final position without turning, and the winner is announced at once. The result is just as random.