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.

For YouTube creators

YouTube Giveaway Picker — Pick Winners from Video Comments

Pick winners from YouTube video comments with cryptographic verification anyone can audit. Paste your link, get a fair random winner in 60 seconds — free up to 100 comments.

No signup. Works with videos, Shorts and live-stream replays.

50,000+ draws·12M+ comments processed·2,500 creators/day·120 countries·100% verifiable

How it works (3 steps)

From YouTube URL to verifiable winner in under two minutes — no spreadsheet, no copy-paste, no trust required.

1
Paste your YouTube link
Drop the URL of any public YouTube video, Short, or live-stream replay. Rafflecopter fetches every comment via the official YouTube Data API — no scraping, no broken pagination.
2
Set winners and rules
Pick how many winners, include or exclude reply threads, require a keyword or @mention, and toggle the AI bot filter. Done in 15 seconds.
3
Pick + verify
Click Draw. Watch the cinematic reveal. Share the SHA-256 proof URL with your audience — anyone can independently confirm the winner was random.

Why Rafflecopter vs other YouTube pickers

We compared head-to-head against the two tools YouTube creators reach for most.

Feature	Rafflecopter	Gleam.io	Comment Picker
Works with full YouTube comment threads (incl. Shorts)	Yes	Partial	Yes
Cryptographic SHA-256 proof per draw	Yes	No	No
Free up to 100 comments	Yes	No (trial only)	Yes (with ads)
No monthly subscription	Yes — pay per draw	No (from $39/mo)	Yes
AI bot / duplicate filter	Yes	Limited	No
Cinematic live draw room	Yes (Premium)	No	No
Multi-winner podium + tiebreaker	Yes	Yes (Pro)	No
GDPR / CCPA / LGPD compliant by design	Yes	Yes	Unclear

Comparison reflects publicly listed features as of June 2026. Gleam and Comment Picker are trademarks of their respective owners.

YouTube giveaway FAQ

How does the YouTube Giveaway Picker fetch my comments?

Paste any public YouTube video URL (or Shorts URL). Rafflecopter calls the YouTube Data API and pulls every top-level comment, paginating until the full list is collected. Replies can be included or excluded with a single toggle before you draw.

Does it work with YouTube Shorts and Live replays?

Yes. Shorts URLs, regular long-form videos, premiered videos and live-stream replays are all supported, as long as comments are publicly enabled on the video.

Can I require commenters to subscribe or like the video?

YouTube does not expose subscriber-status per commenter, so no third-party tool can verify subscriptions reliably. Rafflecopter instead lets you require a specific keyword, hashtag, or @mention in the comment — and filters out obvious bot accounts before the draw.

How do entrants know the YouTube draw was not rigged?

Every draw produces a public SHA-256 certificate at rafflecopter.app/proof/[code]. The certificate locks in the participant list, the seed used by the cryptographically secure RNG, and the winner. Anyone — including skeptical commenters — can re-run the verification in their browser.

Is the YouTube Giveaway Picker free?

Yes for videos up to 100 comments — no signup, no card, no watermark. Above 100 comments, draws are pay-per-use ($4.99 standard up to 200 comments, $7.99 premium up to 2,000 comments with the cinematic live draw room). Never a subscription.

Ready for a YouTube draw your audience can't dispute?

Paste your link. Pick a winner. Get a SHA-256 proof certificate. Free for videos up to 100 comments — no card, no signup.

Run your YouTube giveaway →

Already trusted by 2,500 creators a day across 120 countries.

YouTube Giveaway Picker — Pick Winners from Video Comments

How it works (3 steps)

Paste your YouTube link

Set winners and rules

Pick + verify

Why Rafflecopter vs other YouTube pickers

YouTube giveaway FAQ

Ready for a YouTube draw your audience can't dispute?