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 Comment Picker — Which Picker Should You Use?

9 platforms + crypto verification vs Instagram-only with watermarked free tier.

Rafflecopter wins

Tied

Comment Picker wins

TL;DR

Pick Rafflecopter if you run giveaways across more than one platform, need a public SHA-256 certificate to prove the draw was fair, want a cinematic reveal video for Reels/Stories, or sell to a Brazilian audience that pays via PIX. Same no-signup, paste-and-draw flow as Comment Picker, with more on top.

Pick Comment Picker if your giveaway is Instagram-only, you do not care about verification certificates or video export, and you value the brand familiarity of a tool that has been around since 2017. It is genuinely free, fast, and good enough for casual draws.

Feature-by-feature

Feature	Rafflecopter	Comment Picker
Free tier Both have a real free tier — Comment Picker has fewer feature gates, Rafflecopter has fewer brand gates	Up to 100 comments per draw, no watermark	Unlimited draws but no certificate, basic export
Pricing model Different models — Comment Picker is cheaper if you run 5+ draws/month	Pay-per-draw ($4.99 standard / $7.99 premium)	Free with optional $9.99/mo Premium
Platforms supported	9 (IG, TikTok, YouTube, FB, X, Reddit, Threads, Bluesky, Kwai)	Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok
SHA-256 cryptographic verification Public certificate any participant can re-run to prove the draw was fair	Yes	No
Open verification protocol (MCP server)	Yes	No
PIX payment (BR market) Stripe + Mercado Pago PIX for Brazilian creators	Yes	No
Cinematic reveal video (MP4 export)	7 themes, 9:16 / 1:1 / 16:9 with audio	Static results screen, screenshot only
Multi-winner with podium (1st / 2nd / 3rd)	Up to 10 winners with ranked display	Yes, plain numbered list
Anti-bot / duplicate filter	AI-based, weighted scoring	Basic duplicate removal
Tag-a-friend rules	Configurable (1+, 2+, 3+ friends)	Fixed setting
Account / signup required	No (paste link, draw, done)	No (paste link, draw, done)
Speed for small Instagram draws Comment Picker is faster for the absolute simplest IG-only flow	~60 seconds	~30 seconds
Brand recognition / trust	Newer (2024)	Established since 2017
Customer support	Email + chat, <24h response, multi-language	Email only, community forum
Multi-language UI	16 languages	English, Spanish, Portuguese, ~6 total
GDPR / LGPD compliance	Yes	Yes

When to choose Rafflecopter

Pick us when your giveaway has any of these requirements:

You draw on more than Instagram — TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, Reddit, Kwai, X, Facebook are all first-class.
Sponsors, brand partners or participants need a verifiable fairness certificate (SHA-256 of the comment list + seed, re-runnable by anyone).
You want a cinematic MP4 reveal (7 themes, audio, 9:16 / 1:1 / 16:9) to post the result as a Reel or Story instead of a screenshot.
You run paid raffles in Brazil and need PIX (Stripe + Mercado Pago) — Comment Picker has no PIX or BRL flow.
You want multi-winner podiums with 1st / 2nd / 3rd ranking and an open MCP server so other tools can verify your draws programmatically.

When to choose Comment Picker

We are not the right tool for everyone. Stick with Comment Picker if:

Your giveaway is strictly Instagram (or one of FB / YT / TT) and you have no plans to expand to other networks.
You run casual draws where you do not need a verification certificate or a video reveal — a screenshot of the winner is enough.
You value the brand familiarity of a tool that has existed since 2017 and is recognised by your audience.

FAQ

Is Comment Picker free?+

Yes — Comment Picker has a genuinely free tier with unlimited draws on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. The catch is that you do not get a verifiable fairness certificate, the results page has their branding, and exports are limited to a basic screenshot. Their $9.99/month Premium removes ads and unlocks bigger comment limits, but it still does not include cryptographic verification or cinematic video export.

Can I migrate from Comment Picker to Rafflecopter?+

Yes, and there is nothing to actually migrate — both tools are stateless and account-free. You just paste the same Instagram, TikTok or YouTube link into Rafflecopter instead. Past draws on Comment Picker stay there as you left them; new draws on Rafflecopter come with a SHA-256 certificate, optional cinematic MP4, and support for 9 platforms instead of 4.

Which one is fairer / more transparent?+

Both pick winners pseudo-randomly, but only Rafflecopter publishes a SHA-256 fingerprint of the comment list and the random seed so anyone can re-run the draw and confirm the same winner. Comment Picker shows you the result and asks you to trust it. For high-value prizes or sponsored giveaways where participants want proof, Rafflecopter's verification protocol is the safer pick.

When should I stick with Comment Picker?+

If you only run small Instagram giveaways, never need a video reveal, do not care about verification certificates, and want the absolute fastest Instagram-only experience — Comment Picker is fine and has the brand familiarity of being around since 2017. Rafflecopter is the better pick the moment you add TikTok, YouTube, multi-winner podiums, paid prizes, or sponsor accountability.

Try Rafflecopter free

Free for posts up to 100 comments. No signup. No credit card. Paste a link from any of 9 platforms and draw a verifiable winner in 60 seconds.

Pick a winner now

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.