How to select winners

All plans Last reviewed October 29, 2026

Use the Random Entry Picker in the Entries Manager to draw one or more winners at random from your filtered entries. Every draw is random, even when you weight it by votes, so it can't be used to give a prize to the entry with the most votes.

Which way to choose a winner

Method	How it works	Use it when
Random draw	The Random Entry Picker draws from your filtered entries, each with the same chance.	You're running a sweepstakes or giveaway.
Weighted random draw	The picker gives entries with more votes or points a better chance, but the draw is still random.	Votes or bonus actions should count as extra chances.
Most votes	Sort entries by most votes in the Entries Manager and take the top one.	The public vote decides the winner.
Judged	Review entries yourself and label the ones you choose, for example "winner".	A panel or your team picks the best entry.

Before you start

The draw is always random. Each entry in your filtered pool has the same chance, unless you turn on extra weight for votes or points.
Extra weight is not "most votes wins". It makes an entry with more votes more likely to be drawn, but the entry with the most votes can still lose. If the top-voted entry should win, don't use the picker. Sort your entries by most votes and take the top one.
Pick winners after your entry period ends. Entries that arrive after you draw aren't in the draw.

Pick winners with the Random Entry Picker

Open the Entries Manager from Home or the Campaign Builder.
Use the filters in the Filters sidebar on the right to narrow the pool to the entries that should be eligible, for example one list, then click Apply filters. Only entries that match all your applied filters are drawn from.
To leave out earlier winners or entries your Entry Filter marked as suspicious, open the Label filter, type the label in Exclude Labels, and click Apply filters. Labels are saved in lower case, so "Winner" and "winner" are the same label.
Click Actions, then Pick Random Entries/Winner(s).
Set the options below.
Click Submit & Close.
When Picked entries ready appears, click View to see the winners in the Entries Manager.

Picker options

Option	What it does	Use it when
Number of Entries to Pick	How many winners to draw. The default is 1.	You have more than one prize.
Labels to Apply to Picked Entries	Adds a label to each picked entry. The default is "picked" followed by today's date. You can change or remove it.	You want to find the winners later, or exclude them from a future draw. Use the same label each time, such as "winner".
Give Extra Weight to Entries with Votes/Points	Makes entries with more votes more likely to be drawn.	Votes should work as extra chances in a prize draw. Leave it off for a pure random draw.

Contact and announce your winners

The picker labels the entries it draws, so you can check them before you contact anyone.

Contact each winner from their entry: hover over it in the Entries Manager and click View Details to see their email and other details. See Entry Details.
Email every winner at once with a scheduled email that uses the Filter by Label filter to include only your winner label. Scheduled emails are included in the Max and Enterprise plans.
Show the winners on your campaign with an Entry Display Widget filtered by your winner label. See Using the Label Filter to display specific entries.
Reveal the winner in a video with Winner Reveal.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What to do
You can't see all your entries, or some entrants can't be picked	You're on a Free plan and some entries are beyond your plan's allowance. They're hidden, not deleted, newest first. Subscribe and they all reappear, then run the draw. See Where are the entries?
The entry with the most votes didn't win	That's expected: weighted draws are still random. For a "most votes wins" contest, sort by most votes and take the top entry.
A previous winner was picked again	The picker leaves out only entries with a label in Exclude Labels in the Label filter. Label winners when you pick them, such as "winner", and exclude that label next time.
The pool is smaller than you expected	Entries must match all of your filters. Remove a filter, then check the number of entries shown before you draw.

FAQs

Does the Random Entry Picker email the winners?

No. It labels the entries it draws, so you can review the result first. Then contact winners from their Entry Details, or send an email to everyone with the winner label. See "Contact and announce your winners" in this article.

Can I pick alternate winners?

Yes. Run a second draw with a different label, such as "alternate", and exclude your winner label so the same entries aren't drawn twice.

Can I run the draw again?

Yes. Each draw is new and random. Entries picked before can be drawn again unless you exclude their label in Exclude Labels in the Label filter.

Can I make the entry with the most votes win?

Not with the picker, because every draw is random, even when weighted. Sort your entries by most votes in the Entries Manager and take the top one.

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