who pays the bill

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Pick

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Let chance pick who pays

Some groups split every bill to the cent. Others prefer a bit of drama: one person, chosen at random, pays the lot, and next time it might be someone else. This page opens the picker with a list called At the table. Type everyone’s name, press Pick, and the reel slows down name by name before it stops on the person paying. Put the phone in the middle of the table for the full effect.

Agree on the rules first

  • Everyone in, or nobody. The game only works if everyone at the table agrees before the reel spins, not after they see the total.
  • Set a ceiling. A coffee round is one thing; a birthday dinner for ten is another. Decide what is fair game.
  • Keep it occasional. Among friends who eat out often, the luck evens out over time. For a one-off dinner with people of different means, splitting is kinder.

A fair rotation instead of pure luck

Remove picked names is on by default. Leave it on, and the person who paid drops out of the list next time, until everyone has paid once. The list and the picked names stay saved in this browser, so the same group can come back to this page for the next lunch. Press Reset to start a new rotation.

Other things to settle

  • Who buys the next round.
  • Who brings pastries to Friday’s meeting.
  • Who drives, who does the dishes, who walks the dog in the rain.

If it is between two people, flip a coin. For a bigger choice among options rather than people, spin the wheel.

How it works

  1. Paste your names

    Type or paste your list in the box, one name per line. It stays saved in this browser.

  2. Choose how many

    Tap the number in the sentence “Pick one name” to pick 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 names at once.

  3. Roll the reel

    Press Pick or the Space bar. The reel rolls like a slot machine and lands on the picked name.

Any suggestions for improvement?

We build tools that are as simple and intuitive as possible, with a few bonuses here and there. Tell us what would make this one better.

Ready-made versions

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The guide

How to Pick a Random Winner FairlyMethods, traps and how to prove a drawing was fair

Questions

Is this the same as credit card roulette?

Same idea: everyone is in, one person pays the whole bill. Instead of the server drawing a card, the reel picks a name, and nobody hands over their card until the result is in.

Can we make sure the same person doesn’t pay twice in a row?

Leave Remove picked names on. The person who paid is out of the pool until everyone has had a turn.

Is the pick really random?

Yes. The name is chosen with your browser’s cryptographic random generator, and every name on the list has the same chance.

Is the random name picker free?

Yes. It is free, funded by advertising, with no account and no app to install.

More free tools

Spin the wheelType names, spin, get a random winnerRaffle generatorDraw raffle tickets or names, no repeatsTeam generatorSplit a list of names into random teamsList randomizerShuffle any list into a random orderName generatorFake names for stories, games and testsRandom numberPick random numbers in any rangeSecret SantaDraw names by email or in person, no accountFlip a coinHeads or tails, a fair 50/50 coin tossclooock.comTimerCountdowns with sound and presets.