List Randomizer: Shuffle, Pick and Randomize Any List Online
This free list randomizer shuffles any list into a new random order in one click. Paste names, numbers or tasks, one per line or separated by commas, then shuffle the whole list, pick one or more random winners, or split everyone into teams. It uses a fair shuffle that gives every possible order the same chance, and it runs in your browser.
Paste your list into the box and select Randomize. A new order appears instantly.
Use the toolResult
Draw history (this visit only)
Three modes in one
Shuffle a list, draw winners or split people into teams.
Fair by design
Fisher-Yates with a secure random source, no modulo bias.
Copy or download
Copy as lines or a comma list, or save a CSV file.
Private by design
Your list never leaves your browser.
Paste your list, choose Shuffle, and select Randomize. Every possible order is equally likely, and you can copy it or download it as a CSV.
Key Takeaways
- Paste one item per line or separate them with commas, and the list randomizer shuffles them into a new order.
- It uses the Fisher-Yates shuffle, so every possible order is equally likely.
- Pick mode draws one or more winners with no repeats, and can remove each winner before the next draw.
- Duplicates are treated as separate items unless you switch on Remove duplicates.
- For giveaways, run the draw on screen or record it so entrants can see it was fair.
Randomize a List Online in One Click
There is nothing to set up. Paste your list, choose what you want to happen to it, and select Randomize. Select it again for another order, as often as you like.
The list stays on your device. Names, emails and other entries are never uploaded, so it is safe to use for class lists, customer lists and giveaway entrants.
What Is a List Randomizer?
A list randomizer is a tool that puts the items in a list into a random order, or picks items from it at random. It is also called a list shuffler, a list scrambler, a random order generator or a random list generator. Each name describes the same job: removing human choice from the order or the selection.
Shuffling and picking are related but different. Shuffling rearranges everything. Picking selects some items and leaves the rest. This tool does both, plus splitting a list into groups.
How to Randomize a List
-
1STEP 1 Paste your list into the box. Use one item per line, or separate items with commas, semicolons or tabs. A column copied from a spreadsheet works as it is.
-
2STEP 2 Choose a mode: Shuffle to reorder everything, Pick winners to draw some items, or Make teams to split the list into groups.
-
3STEP 3 Set your options, such as Remove duplicates, Number the results or Remove winners after each draw.
-
4STEP 4 Select Randomize. The result appears straight away.
-
5STEP 5 Copy the result, or download it as a CSV file. Select Draw again for a new random result.
List Randomizer Modes and Options
| Mode or option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Shuffle | Rearranges every item into a new random order. | You need a random speaking order, a playlist order or a fair running order. |
| Pick winners | Draws a chosen number of items at random. | You are running a raffle, a giveaway or a classroom draw. |
| Make teams | Splits the list into a set number of teams, or teams of a set size. | You are forming sports teams, project groups or breakout rooms. |
| Remove duplicates | Keeps only one copy of repeated entries. | Your list has the same name more than once. |
| Remove winners after each draw | Takes a picked item out of the pool. | You draw one name at a time and nobody can win twice. |
| Number the results | Adds 1, 2, 3 in front of each line. | The order matters, such as a ranking or a queue. |
| Separator auto-detect | Reads lines, commas, semicolons and tabs. | You paste from a document or a spreadsheet. |
Random Name Picker: Draw Winners From a List
To pick a random name from a list, paste the names, choose Pick winners and set how many you need. The tool draws that many different names. Because each item can be drawn only once, nobody wins twice in the same round.
This works as a name drawer for a classroom, a team meeting or a prize draw. It is also a general random picker for any choice you would rather not make yourself, from which task to start with to which restaurant to visit.
How to Run a Fair Draw
- 1Clean the list first, so each person appears once. Switch on Remove duplicates if needed.
- 2Decide how many winners you need, and whether to draw backup winners in case someone does not respond.
- 3Share the screen or record it as you draw, so entrants can see the result was not chosen by hand.
- 4Copy the result straight away and keep it with your records.
Giveaway and Raffle Tips
A random draw is only fair if the entry list is fair. Count each person once, publish the rules before you draw, and announce the winner as soon as possible. Rules for prize draws and social media promotions differ by country and by platform, so check both before you run one.
Every draw shows the time, the size of the list and the source of the randomness above the result, and the draw history keeps a log for the visit, which helps when you need to show how a winner was chosen.
Random Team Generator: Split a List Into Teams or Groups
Switch to Make teams to split a list into groups. You can say how many teams you want, or how many people should be in each team. The tool shuffles the list first and then deals people out in turn, so team sizes never differ by more than one person. For captains, team names, keep-apart rules and skill balancing, use the random team generator.
| People | Teams | Resulting team sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 3 | 4, 3 and 3 |
| 25 | 4 | 7, 6, 6 and 6 |
| 30 | 5 | 6 in every team |
Shuffling before dealing is what makes the teams random. Splitting an alphabetical list into blocks would put the same people together every time.
How the Shuffle Works: The Fisher-Yates Algorithm
The Fisher-Yates shuffle is the standard method for shuffling a list fairly. Ronald Fisher and Frank Yates published the original in 1938, and Richard Durstenfeld published the modern computer version in 1964. Donald Knuth later popularised it, so it is also called the Knuth shuffle. The method is described in detail in Wikipedia's article on the Fisher-Yates shuffle.
It works from the end of the list. At each step, it picks a random item from the part not yet fixed, swaps it into the current position and moves one place back. Provided the random numbers are unbiased, every possible order is equally likely.
The number of possible orders grows very quickly. A list of 10 items has 3,628,800 possible orders, and a list of 20 has about 2.4 quintillion.
Why a Quick Random Sort Is Not a Fair Shuffle
A common shortcut is to sort a list with a random comparison or to swap each item with any random position. Both give uneven results. In the swapping version, three items have 27 possible swap sequences but only six orders, so some orders turn up four times and others five.
Range handling matters too. Reducing a random number with a remainder, or an off-by-one error, also introduces bias, according to the Wikipedia article on the algorithm. The tool avoids both mistakes by drawing each number with rejection sampling.
Is It Truly Random?
Computers produce pseudo-random numbers. MDN notes that Math.random is not cryptographically secure, while the browser's crypto.getRandomValues is seeded with enough entropy to be suitable for cryptographic purposes. This randomizer uses the second one, so results cannot be predicted from earlier draws.
Randomize a List in Excel, Google Sheets and Python
| Where | Method |
|---|---|
| Excel (Microsoft 365) | =SORTBY(A1:A10, RANDARRAY(ROWS(A1:A10))) returns the list in random order. |
| Google Sheets | =SORT(A1:A10, RANDARRAY(ROWS(A1:A10)), TRUE) returns the list in random order. |
| Python | random.shuffle(my_list) shuffles in place. Use random.SystemRandom().shuffle(my_list) for a secure source. |
The spreadsheet formulas recalculate every time the sheet changes, so the order keeps moving. Copy the result and paste it as values to freeze it. For a quick one-off shuffle, pasting the list here is faster.
What People Use a List Randomizer For
- Teachers choosing who answers next, setting presentation order and making fair seating plans.
- Team leaders deciding who speaks first in a meeting and rotating chores.
- Organisers drawing raffle and giveaway winners.
- Coaches and game hosts splitting players into balanced teams.
- Researchers randomising the order of items or participants. For formal studies, follow your protocol and use proper statistical software.
- Anyone stuck on a decision who wants a neutral tiebreak.
A simple example is a speaking order. Shuffle the attendee list once, share the numbered result with everyone, and the discussion about who goes first is over.
If your list holds one-word entries with repeats, the duplicate word remover can tidy it before you shuffle.
Privacy: Your List Stays in Your Browser
Shuffling and picking happen on your device. The names you paste are not uploaded, stored or shared, and they are gone when you close the tab. Lists of real people count as personal data, so collect and use entrant details only as your giveaway rules say.
FAQs
How do I randomize a list?
Paste your list into the box, one item per line or separated by commas, choose Shuffle and select Randomize. The items appear in a new random order that you can copy or download. Select Draw again for another order. The tool reads lines, commas, semicolons and tabs, so a column copied from a spreadsheet works as it is.
Is this list randomizer truly random and fair?
Yes. It uses the Fisher-Yates shuffle, which makes every possible order equally likely, and it takes its random numbers from your browser's cryptographically secure generator. That is more reliable than a random sort or a hand pick. The result is pseudo-random, as all computer randomness is, but it cannot be predicted from earlier results.
How do I pick a random name from a list?
Paste the names, switch to Pick winners, set the number to 1 and select Randomize. One name is drawn at random. To draw several names, increase the number. Each name can be drawn only once per round, so nobody is picked twice. Switch on Remove winners after each draw if you pick one name at a time.
Can I pick several winners without the same name twice?
Yes. Pick winners draws different items each time within a round, so a name cannot be chosen twice. If the same person appears twice in your list, they have two entries, so switch on Remove duplicates first if you want one entry each. Entries are treated as separate items otherwise.
How does it handle duplicates in my list?
By default, each repeated entry is treated as a separate item, so a name that appears twice has twice the chance of being picked. To give everyone one entry, switch on Remove duplicates, which keeps a single copy of each. It ignores differences in capital letters, so Sam and sam are counted as the same entry.
How do I split a list into random teams?
Choose Make teams, then enter either the number of teams or the number of people per team. The tool shuffles the list and deals people out in turn, so team sizes never differ by more than one. If 10 people are split into 3 teams, you get teams of 4, 3 and 3.
Can I use it for Secret Santa?
Yes, with one extra step. Shuffle the names, then give each person the name that comes after theirs in the shuffled list, and give the last person the first name. Nobody can draw themselves, and everyone gives and receives exactly one gift. Share each person's assignment privately, not the full list. For exclusions, a budget and private links, use the Secret Santa generator.
Is there a limit on list size, and is my list saved?
The tool handles lists of up to 100,000 items, and lists of thousands of lines shuffle in a moment. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere: all processing happens in your browser, and the list is cleared when you close the tab. Use Download CSV before you close the tab if you want to keep the result.
Related Free Tools
Random Team Generator
Split names into fair, random teams in one click.
Open the toolSecret Santa Generator
Draw gift-exchange pairs with exclusions, by email or link.
Open the toolDuplicate Word Remover
Delete repeated words, lines and sentences.
Open the toolText Compare
Find every difference between two texts.
Open the toolReady to randomize your list?
Scroll back to the randomizer, paste your list and get a fair random result in a second.
Use the tool