Is the wheel actually random, or is the animation faking it?

The winner is drawn first with crypto.getRandomValues — the browser's cryptographic random generator, the same source used for encryption keys — and the animation is then calculated to stop on that slice. Deciding the result from a random spin speed instead would quietly favour certain slices, which is why the order matters. Rejection sampling is used rather than a plain modulo, so there is no bias towards the first few entries either.

How many entries can I put on the wheel?

Up to 500, though readability is the real limit: past about 40 slices the labels get too thin to read at a glance, and the text shrinks and truncates with an ellipsis. For long lists, the Random Name Picker is the better tool — same fairness, no geometry to fight.

Can the same entry win twice in a row?

Yes, and that is what a fair wheel looks like. With six entries the chance of the same one winning twice in a row is 1 in 6 — unremarkable, even though it feels rigged. If you need every entry to come up exactly once, tick 'remove the winner from the wheel' and each winner drops off after it is drawn.

How do I weight the wheel so one entry is more likely?

Repeat the line. Each line is one equal slice, so an entry typed three times gets three slices and three times the chance. Useful for raffles where people earn extra tickets, or for a chore wheel where one job should come up more often than the rest.

What does the share link contain?

The entry list itself, packed into the ?w= part of the URL as base64url text. There is no database and no wheel ID: open the link and the entries are decoded straight out of the address bar into the box. That also means a wheel with 200 long entries makes a very long link, and some chat apps will wrap or truncate it.

Does the wheel remember my entries after I close the tab?

No. Nothing is written to storage or sent anywhere — close the tab and the wheel is gone. Copy the share link and bookmark it if you want the same wheel tomorrow; that one URL is the whole saved state.

Can I use custom colours for the slices?

Paste hex codes into the colours field, separated by commas or spaces — both #abc and #aabbcc forms work. The palette cycles if you have more slices than colours, and the label text flips between black and white automatically based on the WCAG relative luminance of each slice, so a pale yellow gets dark text instead of unreadable white.

Why does the pointer sometimes stop near the edge of a slice?

A small random offset is added so the needle does not land dead-centre on every spin, which looks mechanical. The offset stays within 35% of the slice width from the middle, so the result is never ambiguous — and the final winner is read back off the wheel's actual stopping angle, not from the number drawn at the start.

Does it work on a phone, or offline?

Both. The wheel is a canvas element sized to your screen, and tapping it spins. Everything runs in the browser with no network calls after the page loads, so once the page is open you can switch to airplane mode and keep spinning.

Spin the Wheel — Free Random Picker Wheel Online

Entries — one per line

Slices on the wheel: 0

Slice colours — hex codes, optional

Remove the winner from the wheel

Share this wheel

Type or paste one entry per line and the wheel redraws itself as you go. Hit spin and it coasts to a stop on a winner chosen by the browser's cryptographic random generator, so every slice has exactly the same chance. Every spin is logged in a running history, winners can drop off the wheel automatically, and the whole wheel packs into a link you can send to someone else — nothing is uploaded or stored on a server.

How it works

1
Add your entries Put one entry per line in the box — names, chores, lunch spots, prize amounts, yes/no. The wheel redraws as you type and the counter shows how many slices you have.
2
Pick your colours (optional) Paste a few hex codes like #0f766e, #b45309 into the colours field to match a brand or a classroom theme. Leave it blank for the default six-colour palette.
3
Spin Click the Spin button or the wheel itself. It turns for about four seconds, slows down, and the winner lands under the pointer at the top with a burst of confetti.
4
Keep going or share Tick 'remove the winner' to run elimination rounds where nobody repeats, check the history for what has come up so far, or copy the share link to send the exact same wheel to someone else.

Your data stays private

All processing happens entirely in your browser. No files, text, or data are ever sent to our servers. You can disconnect from the internet and this tool will still work.

Frequently asked questions

Is the wheel actually random, or is the animation faking it?: The winner is drawn first with crypto.getRandomValues — the browser's cryptographic random generator, the same source used for encryption keys — and the animation is then calculated to stop on that slice. Deciding the result from a random spin speed instead would quietly favour certain slices, which is why the order matters. Rejection sampling is used rather than a plain modulo, so there is no bias towards the first few entries either.
How many entries can I put on the wheel?: Up to 500, though readability is the real limit: past about 40 slices the labels get too thin to read at a glance, and the text shrinks and truncates with an ellipsis. For long lists, the Random Name Picker is the better tool — same fairness, no geometry to fight.
Can the same entry win twice in a row?: Yes, and that is what a fair wheel looks like. With six entries the chance of the same one winning twice in a row is 1 in 6 — unremarkable, even though it feels rigged. If you need every entry to come up exactly once, tick 'remove the winner from the wheel' and each winner drops off after it is drawn.
How do I weight the wheel so one entry is more likely?: Repeat the line. Each line is one equal slice, so an entry typed three times gets three slices and three times the chance. Useful for raffles where people earn extra tickets, or for a chore wheel where one job should come up more often than the rest.
What does the share link contain?: The entry list itself, packed into the ?w= part of the URL as base64url text. There is no database and no wheel ID: open the link and the entries are decoded straight out of the address bar into the box. That also means a wheel with 200 long entries makes a very long link, and some chat apps will wrap or truncate it.
Does the wheel remember my entries after I close the tab?: No. Nothing is written to storage or sent anywhere — close the tab and the wheel is gone. Copy the share link and bookmark it if you want the same wheel tomorrow; that one URL is the whole saved state.
Can I use custom colours for the slices?: Paste hex codes into the colours field, separated by commas or spaces — both #abc and #aabbcc forms work. The palette cycles if you have more slices than colours, and the label text flips between black and white automatically based on the WCAG relative luminance of each slice, so a pale yellow gets dark text instead of unreadable white.
Why does the pointer sometimes stop near the edge of a slice?: A small random offset is added so the needle does not land dead-centre on every spin, which looks mechanical. The offset stays within 35% of the slice width from the middle, so the result is never ambiguous — and the final winner is read back off the wheel's actual stopping angle, not from the number drawn at the start.
Does it work on a phone, or offline?: Both. The wheel is a canvas element sized to your screen, and tapping it spins. Everything runs in the browser with no network calls after the page loads, so once the page is open you can switch to airplane mode and keep spinning.

From the blog

The Spinning Wheel: Why It Beats Picking a Name Yourself How a random wheel actually decides, why 'that can't be random' is usually wrong, and the settings that matter for classrooms, giveaways, and standups. Read the post →

Spin the Wheel — Free Random Picker Wheel Online

Spin history

How often each won

How it works

Your data stays private

Frequently asked questions

From the blog

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