liminfoWheel Spinner
Free web tool: Wheel Spinner
About Wheel Spinner
The Random Wheel Spinner is a free, interactive decision-making tool that lets you enter any list of options — one per line — and spin a colorful CSS conic-gradient wheel to randomly select a winner. The wheel supports up to 10 items with distinct colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, teal, rose, indigo), and each item is labeled directly on the wheel so all participants can see every option before the spin.
This tool is popular among teachers who need to randomly call on students without bias, game show hosts running giveaways, team managers assigning rotating tasks, families settling debates about what to eat for dinner, and game night players who need a fair randomizer. The spinner is also useful for content creators who run comment-section giveaways, or for anyone who wants to remove decision fatigue from everyday choices.
Technically, the spin animation uses a CSS cubic-bezier transition over 4 seconds — starting fast and decelerating smoothly — applied to a CSS conic-gradient background that divides the wheel into equal slices based on the number of entries. The winning item is determined by computing the final rotation angle modulo 360 degrees, dividing by the slice angle, and selecting the corresponding item from the list. All randomization happens client-side using Math.random().
Key Features
- Enter any custom list of options — one per line — up to the 10-color support
- Full-screen spinning wheel rendered using CSS conic-gradient with 10 distinct colors
- Item labels displayed directly on the wheel so all options are visible before spinning
- 4-second spin animation with a smooth cubic-bezier deceleration for dramatic effect
- Triangle pointer at the top clearly indicates the winning slice after the wheel stops
- Winner announced with a highlighted green result box showing the selected item
- Spin button disabled while spinning to prevent accidental double-spins
- Completely free and client-side — no sign-up, no server requests, works on any device
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the wheel spinner randomly pick a winner?
When you press the SPIN button, the wheel rotates by a random additional amount between 1440 and 2880 degrees (4-8 full rotations) plus the current accumulated rotation. After the 4-second CSS animation, the final rotation angle is taken modulo 360 degrees. This is divided by the angle of each slice (360 / number of items) to determine which item the pointer is pointing to. Math.random() is used to generate the random extra rotation.
How many items can I add to the wheel?
The wheel supports as many items as you can enter, one per line, in the text area. However, for readability the item labels on the wheel are truncated to 10 characters. The tool assigns 10 distinct colors cyclically — if you have more than 10 items, the colors repeat. For the best visual clarity, 4-8 items is the recommended range.
Is the result truly random?
Yes. The extra rotation added on each spin is determined by Math.random(), which generates a pseudo-random floating-point number between 0 and 1. This is then multiplied by 1440 and added to a base of 1440, resulting in a uniformly distributed random spin between 4 and 8 full rotations. The winning item selection is purely a function of this random rotation, making every spin outcome equally probable for all items.
Can I use this for classroom random student selection?
Absolutely. Many teachers use this spinner to call on students randomly without conscious or unconscious bias. Simply enter all student names (one per line) and spin whenever you need to select a presenter or answerer. The visual spinning wheel adds an element of fun and anticipation for the whole class.
Can I use this for giveaways and prize draws?
Yes, the wheel spinner is commonly used for live-streamed giveaways. Enter the names of eligible participants, share your screen, and spin the wheel. The result is determined by client-side randomization that is not influenced by any external factors, making it a fair and transparent method for selecting a winner.
Does the wheel reset between spins?
No — the wheel accumulates rotation across spins. Each new spin adds additional rotation to wherever the wheel stopped last time. This means the wheel never returns to its starting position between spins, which prevents any pattern or memorized starting positions from influencing outcomes. The accumulated rotation variable grows with each spin.
What happens if I have only one item in the list?
The spin button is disabled if there are fewer than 2 items in the list. This is because a single-item wheel would always select the same item with 100% probability, which is not a meaningful randomization. Add at least 2 items to enable the spin button.
Can I use this tool on mobile devices?
Yes. The wheel spinner is fully responsive and works on smartphones and tablets. The text area for entering items and the wheel itself both scale to fit the screen. On smaller screens, the layout switches from a two-column grid to a single column, placing the input area above the wheel.