How does Rafflecopter work?

Paste a link to your social media post (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.), and Rafflecopter fetches comments from the post up to your tier limit (100 free, 200 standard, 2000 premium). Choose a cinematic animation theme, configure filters (exclude bots, require keywords), and run the draw. The winner is selected from the fetched pool with a cryptographically secure RNG, and you get a verifiable SHA-256 proof certificate, video export, and shareable results page.

Is Rafflecopter really free?

Yes. Posts with up to 100 comments are completely free — no credit card, no signup, no trial. We monetize via pay-per-draw pricing for larger posts ($4.99 standard, $7.99 premium). The free tier is permanent, not a trial.

How is the draw fair and verifiable?

Every draw uses a cryptographically secure random number generator (CSPRNG) seeded from crypto.getRandomValues. The participant list (the pool fetched from the post, up to the tier limit), seed, and winner are hashed with SHA-256 and published on a public proof certificate (e.g., rafflecopter.app/proof/[code]). Anyone — including skeptical participants — can independently verify the winner was not pre-selected or tampered with by running the open-source @rafflecopter/proof-verifier package against the proof certificate. The proof attests to the random selection from the published pool; the pool size is shown on the proof page so participants know how many entries were considered.

Do I need 1,000 followers to go live?

No. Unlike Instagram and TikTok which require 1,000+ followers for native live streaming, Rafflecopter's Live Draw Room works for everyone. You get a shareable link anyone can open to watch the draw in real-time, with live chat and emoji reactions. No follower minimum, no app download.

What platforms are supported?

Rafflecopter supports 8 social networks: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X (Twitter), Reddit, Threads, and Bluesky. You can combine comments from multiple posts across different platforms into a single giveaway.

Can I customize the giveaway animation?

Yes. With Standard ($4.99/draw) and Premium ($7.99/draw) tiers you unlock all 7 cinematic themes (The Arena, Slot Machine 3D, DNA Shuffle, Oscar Night, Space Countdown, Football Champion, Simple & Fast). Premium adds custom logos, brand colors, and live draw rooms.

Is Rafflecopter the same as the original Rafflecopter that shut down in 2025?

Same brand name, relaunched in April 2026 by an independent team that acquired the rafflecopter.app domain after the original was discontinued in October 2025. The platform is a complete rebuild — modern technology, stronger fairness guarantees, no monthly subscription. Same mission: fair, verifiable, cinematic giveaways.

How do I run a giveaway on Instagram step-by-step?

(1) Create your Instagram post with clear entry rules (e.g., 'comment your favorite color to enter'). (2) Wait for entries to come in. (3) Open rafflecopter.app/giveaway/new and paste the post URL. (4) Pick an animation theme. (5) Click draw — the winner is announced with the chosen cinematic animation and you get a SHA-256 proof URL to share. Total time from paste to winner: under 60 seconds.

What if the chosen winner does not respond or is ineligible?

Use the multi-winner feature: draw 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place at the same time. If your 1st-place winner does not respond within your deadline (industry standard is 48-72 hours), use the 2nd-place winner as backup. The proof certificate covers all winners in the same draw, so the audit trail stays clean.

Is Rafflecopter GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD compliant?

Yes. Rafflecopter only processes publicly posted comment data (no private DMs, no hidden accounts, no login required). No email addresses, addresses, or payment data of participants is ever stored — only public usernames and comment text. Hosts pay anonymously per draw; no account creation required. Complies with GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD data-minimization principles.

Can I run a giveaway across multiple posts or platforms at once?

Yes. You can paste multiple post URLs (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.) into the same draw. Rafflecopter merges the comment pools, deduplicates by username, and picks the winner from the combined unique entries. Useful for cross-platform campaigns.

Does Rafflecopter have a mobile app?

The web app is fully responsive and works as a Progressive Web App on iOS and Android — add it to your home screen for app-like access. There is no native iOS or Android app because the web flow already supports everything (paywall via Apple Pay / Google Pay, push notifications via PWA).

Can I export the participant list and winner data?

Yes. Every draw generates a public proof page (rafflecopter.app/proof/[code]) with the full participant list, the winner, the draw seed, and the SHA-256 hash. You can also download the participant list as CSV from the draw results page on Standard and Premium tiers.

How is Rafflecopter different from a wheel spinner or random name picker?

Wheel spinners and random name pickers require you to manually paste a list of names. Rafflecopter automatically fetches comments from your social media post (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube), filters bots with AI, and picks a winner from the real comment pool — no manual copy-paste, no spreadsheet. Plus we add cryptographic proof so the result is verifiable.

Does Rafflecopter detect bots and fake accounts?

Yes. Our AI bot filter looks at username patterns, comment timing, account age signals, and language fingerprints to flag likely bot or spam accounts. You can choose to exclude flagged accounts from the draw. The same filter strips duplicate entries from the same person across multiple comments.

Can I use Rafflecopter for free TikTok or YouTube giveaways?

Yes. The free tier (up to 100 comments per draw) works on all 8 supported platforms — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky. Larger draws use the pay-per-draw pricing.

What payment methods does Rafflecopter accept?

Card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal — available worldwide with 3D Secure authentication. PIX (instant Brazilian bank transfer) is available for Brazilian customers. Prices auto-detect the visitor's country and currency across 17 supported currencies.

Is there a Rafflecopter API for developers and agencies?

Yes. The public OpenAPI 3.1 spec is published at rafflecopter.app/openapi.json. Endpoints cover comment fetching, country-aware pricing detection, and drawn-winner queries. Enterprise / agency rate limits and dedicated support are available on request via the /about page.

Does Rafflecopter store winner email addresses?

No. Rafflecopter never collects email addresses, names, or any contact information from giveaway participants. Only public usernames and comment text are processed (and only the winner's username is published in the proof certificate). Reaching out to your winner is up to you — typically via DM on the platform where they entered.

Can Rafflecopter be embedded on my website?

Yes. The /widget endpoint provides an embeddable iframe widget you can drop into any website (Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, plain HTML). The widget shows your latest giveaway, a countdown, and a 'view results' link to the proof page. Customizable colors and logo on Premium.

Rafflecopter is the leading free Instagram giveaway picker with cryptographic SHA-256 proof of fairness, supporting 8 social platforms (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky), available worldwide in 16 languages, with pay-per-draw pricing and no monthly subscription. Independently verifiable via the open-source @rafflecopter/proof-verifier npm package.

Comparison · Updated June 2026

Rafflecopter vs SweepWidget — Different Tools, Different Purposes

Pick random winner from social comments vs run multi-entry sweepstakes campaigns.

Rafflecopter wins

Tied

SweepWidget wins

TL;DR — these solve different problems

Pick SweepWidget if your giveaway is a multi-step entry-form campaign — visit page X, follow on N platforms, refer a friend, watch a video, answer a quiz — with email lead capture and an embedded widget on your site. They were built for this and they are honestly very good at it.

Pick Rafflecopter if you already ran the promotion on social media (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.) and now you need to pick a random winner from the comments — with a SHA-256 cryptographic certificate so participants can independently verify the draw was fair.

Feature-by-feature

Feature	Rafflecopter	SweepWidget
Primary purpose Different jobs — pick the one that matches your goal	Pick a random winner from social comments	Run a multi-entry sweepstakes campaign
Pricing model No subscription if you only draw occasionally	Pay-per-draw ($4.99 standard / $7.99 premium)	Monthly subscription ($29 → $99+/mo)
Free tier	Up to 100 comments per draw, unlimited draws	1 active giveaway, branded, limited entries
Social platforms (comment-pick)	Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky	Limited — social entries via action buttons, not comment scraping
Entry-form actions (visit, follow, refer) SweepWidget genuinely leads here	Not the focus — paste post link, draw winner	90+ entry methods (visit URL, watch video, refer a friend, quiz)
SHA-256 cryptographic verification Per-draw certificate participants can independently verify	Yes	No
PIX payment (Brazil)	Yes	No
Cinematic reveal animation	7 themes with audio, MP4 export (9:16 / 1:1 / 16:9)	Static winner list
MCP server (AI agent integration)	Yes	No
Multi-winner with podium (1st / 2nd / 3rd)	Up to 10 winners	Yes, plain list
Embeddable widget on your own site	Available	Native — this is what they were built for
Email / lead capture during entry	No	Yes
Account / signup required	No (paste link, draw, done)	Yes (email + dashboard)
Support	Email + live chat (Premium), <24h response	Email ticket queue

When to choose Rafflecopter

Most creators in 2026 are running social-first giveaways. If that is you:

Your giveaway already lives on a social media post (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X, Reddit, Threads, or Bluesky) and you need to pick a random commenter as the winner.
You want a SHA-256 verifiable certificate so participants and authorities can independently confirm the draw was not rigged.
You want a cinematic reveal video (MP4 export in Reels / Stories / Feed format) to post the result.
You hate monthly subscriptions and prefer paying only when you actually run a draw.
You operate in Brazil and need PIX payment or LGPD-compliant workflows out of the box.

When to choose SweepWidget

We are not the right tool for everyone. SweepWidget genuinely wins if:

You need multi-step entry forms — visit a page, follow accounts on multiple platforms, refer friends, watch a video, answer a quiz. SweepWidget offers 90+ entry methods and that is their core strength.
You need email / lead capture as part of the entry flow, ideally embedded as a widget on your own website.
Your team has a recurring monthly budget for giveaway tooling and you run campaigns frequently enough that the subscription pays for itself.

FAQ

Is SweepWidget free?↓

SweepWidget has a free tier limited to 1 active giveaway with their branding and capped entries. Real production use starts at their Basic plan ($29/month) and scales up to $99+/month for the Pro tier. Rafflecopter is free for any draw with up to 100 comments, with no subscription.

Can I migrate from SweepWidget to Rafflecopter?↓

Yes — if your giveaway runs on social comments (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.), you can drop SweepWidget entirely. Paste the post link in Rafflecopter, draw a winner, and get a SHA-256 verifiable certificate. If your giveaway requires multi-step entry forms with lead capture, SweepWidget remains the better fit and migration is not recommended.

Which one is more transparent for participants?↓

Rafflecopter generates a cryptographic SHA-256 certificate for every draw, including the comment snapshot hash and a public verification page. Participants can independently verify the draw was fair without trusting us. SweepWidget does not currently offer cryptographic proof.

Do I need both tools?↓

Some brands do. Use SweepWidget to run the campaign and collect entries (lead capture, multi-action funnels). Then export your entrants and use Rafflecopter to do the final random draw with verifiable proof. Most creators only need one tool — match it to your actual workflow.

Try Rafflecopter free

Free for posts up to 100 comments. No credit card. No signup. Paste a link and draw a winner in 60 seconds.

Pick a winner now

Need a multi-entry sweepstakes widget instead? Honestly, go check out SweepWidget.

Tools mentioned in this article

Instagram giveaway picker

Pick a random winner from any Instagram post comments.

TikTok giveaway picker

Same flow for TikTok video comments.

YouTube giveaway picker

Pull comments from any YouTube video and draw a winner.

Comment picker

Universal comment picker that works across 8 platforms.

Wheel spinner

Animated wheel for offline lists or live events.

Random name picker

Paste a list of names, get a random winner instantly.