The Original Rafflecopter Closed: rafflecopter.app Is an Independent Alternative
The original Rafflecopter (rafflecopter.com) closed on October 1, 2025. rafflecopter.app is a different, independent giveaway picker launched in April 2026. This post explains what it is — and what it is not.
What Happened to the Original Rafflecopter?
The original Rafflecopter (rafflecopter.com) was a widely used giveaway platform for bloggers, small businesses, and brands running contests and sweepstakes through embeddable widgets.
The original company ended the service on October 1, 2025, and said goodbye on its “Farewell from Rafflecopter” page.
Creators who relied on it had to look for alternatives. Many turned to basic free tools that lacked bot detection, fairness verification, or any kind of engaging draw experience. Others moved to expensive enterprise platforms that were overkill for simple social media giveaways.
What rafflecopter.app is
rafflecopter.app is an independent tool. We bought the rafflecopter.app domain — only the domain. We did not acquire the original company or its brand, we share none of its code, and we are not affiliated with it. It is a separate product, launched in April 2026 and designed specifically for Instagram comment giveaways.
The original Rafflecopter was built around embeddable website widgets. rafflecopter.app is built around Instagram posts and reels — you paste one post link per draw.
What rafflecopter.app offers
Here is what it does today:
1. Instagram Comment Loading
The original Rafflecopter focused on website embeds. rafflecopter.app loads comments from Instagram posts and reels: paste the post URL and the comments are fetched automatically. Other networks (TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X and others) are not supported today.
2. Seven Cinematic Draw Animations
Picking a winner should feel special. rafflecopter.app includes seven completely unique draw animation themes: The Arena (battle royale elimination), Slot Machine 3D (Vegas-style spinning reels), DNA Shuffle (hacker terminal decryption), Oscar Night (red carpet envelope reveal), Space Countdown (NASA mission control), Football Champion (stadium tournament bracket), and Simple & Fast (clean instant result). Each theme is a full cinematic experience that you can share as video content.
3. AI Anti-Bot Detection
Fake accounts and bot comments are a real problem in Instagram giveaways. rafflecopter.app flags likely bot accounts, spam comments, and duplicate entries so you can exclude them from the draw.
4. Cryptographic Draw Verification
Every draw generates a cryptographic proof using SHA-256 hashing. The draw seed and the hash of the participant list and result are published, so anyone can recompute the hash at /verify. Your audience can check that the published result matches the published inputs.
5. Live Draw Rooms
rafflecopter.app's Live Draw Room lets you host a real-time draw that anyone can watch through a shareable link. Viewers see the draw animation live, react with emojis, and chat with each other. No minimum follower count required — unlike Instagram and TikTok, which require 1,000+ followers to go live.
6. Video Export
Export your draw animation as a video in 9:16 (TikTok/Reels), 1:1 (feed posts), or 16:9 (YouTube) format. Post the draw video to your social media as a winner announcement.
7. Public Verification Certificates
Every draw generates a shareable, tamper-proof certificate page. Share the link in your winner announcement post so your audience can verify the result themselves. The certificate shows the winner, participant count, draw seed, SHA-256 hash, and timestamp.
The Original Rafflecopter vs rafflecopter.app: Side-by-Side
| Feature | Original (rafflecopter.com) | rafflecopter.app |
|---|---|---|
| Website embed widget | — | |
| Instagram comment picking (posts and reels) | — | |
| Draw animations | — | |
| AI anti-bot detection | — | |
| Cryptographic verification | — | |
| Live Draw Rooms | — | |
| Video export | — | |
| Public certificates | — | |
| Free tier |
If You Used the Original Rafflecopter
Accounts, giveaways and data from the original Rafflecopter do not exist here — rafflecopter.app is a separate tool and never had access to them. To run a new comment giveaway, simply visit rafflecopter.app, paste your Instagram post URL, and start picking winners immediately. No account required.
Posts with up to 200 comments are free, with no time limit — it is not a trial. Larger posts are a one-time payment per draw, with no subscription.
What's Coming Next
Ideas we are considering (not available today): a Chrome extension for picking winners directly from social media pages, an API for developers, advanced analytics dashboards, branded draw themes for enterprise customers, and embeddable widgets for websites.
If you have feature requests or feedback, we want to hear from you.
Conclusion
The original Rafflecopter closed on October 1, 2025. rafflecopter.app is an independent Instagram giveaway picker on a purchased domain, not affiliated with the original, that focuses on simplicity and trust, with cinematic draw animations, AI bot filtering, live draw rooms, and cryptographic verification — whether you are a solo creator or a brand.
Tools mentioned in this article
Instagram giveaway picker
Pick a random winner from any Instagram post comments.
Comment picker
Pick a random winner from Instagram post or reel comments.
Random winner picker
Draw a winner from any list you paste, from any network.
Verify a draw
Look up a proof code and check the published SHA-256 hash.
Wheel spinner
Animated wheel for offline lists or live events.
Random name picker
Paste a list of names, get a random winner instantly.
Try rafflecopter.app
Free for posts with up to 200 comments. Paste an Instagram post URL and pick your first winner in under 60 seconds.