Press Space to spin. Your entries stay in this browser unless you create a share link.
Add images to entries
Images appear inside their wheel segments. Use small square images for the best result.
Wheel Spinner – Spin the Wheel & Pick a Random Name
Use this free wheel spinner to choose a name, prize, task or everyday option from your own list. Paste your entries and press Spin the Wheel. For a wheel of names, add each person once and keep the weights equal when everyone should have the same chance.
The wheel is ready to use as soon as the page loads, but you can customize it when you need more control. Change colors, add images, use weighted entries, remove winners, adjust spin duration, save your list in the browser, or create a short share link. No account or software installation is required.
Start with a Wheel Template
Open a ready-to-spin list, then edit it to suit your activity. Each template saves separately from your main wheel in this browser.
How to Use the Wheel Spinner
Start with these three steps. The complete usage guide explains the controls, saving options and common setup details.
Add names or choices
Replace the sample names with your own list. You can type directly into the Entries box, paste multiple lines, shuffle or sort the list, remove duplicates, import a CSV or TXT file, and add images when a visual option is more useful than text alone.
Customize the spinner wheel
Leave every entry at the default weight for equal chances, or open Advanced to set custom weights, colors, and images. You can also change the spin time, sounds, confetti, winner display mode, and whether a selected winner should be removed automatically.
Spin the wheel and get a result
Click the center of the wheel, use the Spin the Wheel button, or press the Space key when you are not typing. The selected result is added to the Results tab, where you can keep a record, remove a winner, restore an entry, copy results, or download them as CSV.
What Is a Wheel Spinner?
A wheel spinner is a visual random picker that places names or other choices into segments of a spinning wheel. When you start a spin, one eligible entry is selected and the wheel animates to that result. This makes the selection easy for everyone to follow instead of showing only a hidden text result.
The entries do not have to be names. You can use the spinner wheel for prizes, foods, countries, chores, presentation topics, teams, numbers, activities, or almost any short list. When the entries are people, the same tool works as a wheel of names. Short, distinct labels make the list easier to check and the selected result easier to recognize.
Use the Wheel Spinner as a Wheel of Names
If your goal is to choose one person from a group, the wheel becomes a simple wheel of names. Paste a classroom roster, giveaway list, team list, or group of participants into Entries and every eligible name can be included in the random selection.
Equal chances by default
Every entry starts with the same weight. If you do not change the weights, each eligible name has the same theoretical chance of being selected on an independent spin.
Weighted names when needed
When your rules legitimately require different odds, Advanced entries let you assign weights and see the calculated probability instead of using a hidden or unclear weighting system.
Remove winners for unique picks
After the spin wheel selects a name, you can remove that winner manually or enable Auto-remove so the same person is not chosen again during the current sequence.
Keep a useful result history
The Results tab records winners and selection times. You can restore removed entries, copy the list, clear it, or download the results as CSV when you need a simple record of several spins.
A Wheel Spinner Built for More Than One Quick Spin
A basic picker wheel may be enough for a few choices, but classrooms, giveaways, meetings, and repeat selections often need more control. Wheel Spinner Live keeps the first spin simple while providing useful options when your list or selection process becomes more demanding.
Clear odds when weights change
Advanced entries show both the weight and calculated probability. If every weight is the same, the chances remain equal. If you deliberately change a weight, you can see how that affects the selection.
Large lists without unreadable slices
You can limit how many names are drawn on the visible wheel when a very large list would make labels impossible to read. The full eligible list remains in the selection pool, so reducing the displayed slices does not silently remove the other entries.
Save, import, and move your list
Paste entries directly, import CSV or TXT files, save entries and settings in the browser, export results, or create a JSON backup when you need to move a wheel between devices.
Share without a giant URL
When you choose Share, the site creates a compact snapshot link for the current supported names and settings. That makes it easier to send the same wheel to another device or person.
How the Spin Wheel Chooses a Winner
The result is not decided by where the animation happens to slow down. When you spin the wheel, Wheel Spinner Live uses the browser's cryptographically secure crypto.getRandomValues() function to generate the random value used for the selection. The winner is determined from the eligible entries and their weights, and the wheel then animates to the corresponding segment.
With equal weights, every eligible entry has the same theoretical probability on each independent spin. If you use different weights, the picker wheel applies those values intentionally and the Advanced view shows the resulting probability. A previous result does not make an entry more or less likely on the next spin unless you remove it or change its weight.
Read the eligible entries. Blank entries are ignored and the current weight rules are applied.
Generate a secure random value. The browser's Web Crypto API supplies the value used by the picker.
Select the result. Equal or weighted probability is calculated from the current list.
Animate to the winner. The wheel spinner moves to the selected result and records it in Results.
Popular Ways to Spin the Wheel
A visual wheel spinner works especially well when the people involved should be able to follow the selection. These are some common ways to use the same tool.
Classroom wheel of names
Paste a class roster and choose a student for a question, job or presentation order. Remove selected entries when everyone should receive one turn. Our classroom guide gives practical activity setups and participation tips.
Giveaways & raffles
Add eligible participants or ticket holders and spin the wheel in front of an audience. Winner history helps track multiple selections, while weighted entries can represent legitimate ticket quantities when the rules require different numbers of chances.
Teams & meetings
Use the spin wheel to choose who speaks first, assign an icebreaker, select a task, decide a presentation order, or break a low-stakes tie. The visual result is easy for everyone in the room or video call to follow.
Games & everyday decisions
Use the picker wheel for food choices, movie nights, challenges, party games, chores, exercise ideas, travel options, or any other decision where a quick random pick is more useful than debating the list.
Customize Your Wheel Spinner Without Making It Complicated
The default wheel spinner is ready to use immediately, so you do not have to configure anything before your first spin. When you need more control, the Entries and Settings tabs let you change individual segment colors, add entry images, choose a color theme, change the center label, adjust spin duration and volume, switch winner display modes, select a celebration effect, or hide names with Blind mode.
You can also match the pointer to the passing segment color, use a slower spin, add a center logo or background image, and save entries and settings in the browser. These controls stay separate from the main name list so the basic task—add choices and spin the wheel—remains quick.
Use the Wheel Without Publishing Your List
You can use the wheel spinner without making your entries public. When autosave is enabled, the current wheel can be kept in local browser storage so it is available when you reload or return on the same device. If you intentionally create a share link, a snapshot of the names and supported wheel settings is stored on Wheel Spinner Live so the short link can load that wheel elsewhere.
A shared wheel should therefore be treated as information you intend to send to other people. Avoid putting passwords, confidential records, private student information, financial details, or other sensitive data into a shared link. You can read more about how site and shared-wheel information is handled in our Privacy Policy, or learn more about the project on our About Us page.
Wheel Spinner & Wheel of Names FAQs
Quick answers about the wheel spinner, creating a wheel of names, random selection, sharing, customization, and using Wheel Spinner Live on different devices.
What is a wheel spinner?
A wheel spinner is an online random picker that turns names or other choices into segments on a spinning wheel. When you spin the wheel, one eligible entry is selected at random. The same tool can be used for classroom participation, giveaways, games, teams, presentation order, and everyday decisions.
What is a Wheel of Names?
A Wheel of Names is a wheel spinner filled with people's names instead of general choices. Add or paste your list of names, then spin the wheel to select one eligible name at random. It is commonly used for classrooms, teams, raffles, and group activities.
Is Spin the Wheel free?
Yes. Wheel Spinner Live is free to use for adding entries, spinning the wheel, viewing results, changing the main wheel settings, and using the core random-picker features. You do not need to create an account to start spinning.
How do I create a name wheel?
Open the Entries tab and replace the sample names with your own list. Each non-blank entry becomes eligible for selection. You can type names individually, paste several names at once, shuffle or sort the list, and then press Spin the Wheel when you are ready.
Is Spin the Wheel really random?
Wheel Spinner Live uses the browser's cryptographically secure crypto.getRandomValues() function to generate the random value used for each selection. The result is determined from the eligible entries and their weights before the visual animation finishes. With equal weights, each eligible entry has the same theoretical chance on an independent spin.
Can I add my own names to the wheel?
Yes. The sample names are only there so the wheel is ready to try when the page opens. You can remove them and enter your own names, prizes, tasks, teams, numbers, foods, or other short choices in the Entries tab.
Does every name have an equal chance of winning?
Each eligible entry has an equal chance when weights are equal, or when Use entry weights is off. For equal chances per person, include each person once. Repeated entries can give a person additional chances. With weighting enabled, Advanced shows how assigned weights change probabilities.
Can I remove a winner after spinning?
Yes. Remove the selected entry manually or enable Auto-remove winner in Settings. Automatic removal happens after five seconds; wait for the entry count to decrease before spinning again. If a person appears more than once, removing one entry does not remove their other entries.
Can I customize the spinner wheel?
Yes. You can change entry colors, add images, adjust weights, choose a theme, change spin duration and sounds, select the winner display style, choose a confetti effect, use Blind mode, and adjust other settings without changing the basic way the wheel works.
Can I use the wheel for giveaways or classroom activities?
Yes. Teachers can use the wheel of names to choose students, questions, jobs, or presentation order, while giveaway organizers can use the wheel spinner to select from eligible entries. For contests or giveaways, the organizer remains responsible for the rules, participant eligibility, record keeping, and awarding any prize.
Does the wheel spinner work on mobile phones?
Yes. Wheel Spinner Live is designed to adapt to modern desktop, tablet, and mobile browsers. On smaller screens the wheel and control panel rearrange into a mobile-friendly layout so you can edit entries and spin without needing a desktop computer.
Can I share my wheel with someone else?
Yes. Share creates a short snapshot link for supported entries and settings. New short links expire after 30 days, and large uploaded images are excluded. Later edits do not update an existing snapshot. Anyone with the link may open it, so do not include confidential information.
Can I save my names and settings?
Yes. Auto-save options can keep your entries and selected settings in local browser storage so they can be restored when you reload or return using the same browser. You can control entry and settings autosave separately.
How many names can I put on the wheel?
Wheel Spinner Live is designed for both short and large lists. The Settings tab lets you control how many names are drawn on the visible wheel, up to 1,000 displayed names. When the visual display limit is lower than the number of eligible entries, the remaining eligible entries still stay in the random selection pool.
Add Your Choices and Spin the Wheel
Use the wheel spinner above with the sample names, replace them with your own list, or paste several entries at once. For a standard wheel of names, leave the weights equal and press Spin the Wheel. If you need unique winners, custom probabilities, images, or a shareable picker wheel, those controls are already available when you need them.
Back to the wheel ↑