How to pick and announce a YouTube giveaway winner
Picking a YouTube giveaway winner fairly means drawing at random from the video's comments, counting each channel once, and showing your viewers how it happened. YouTube adds two problems the other platforms don't have: there are no direct messages to reach the winner with, and the comment section fills with lookalike accounts the moment a giveaway goes up. This guide covers the draw and both of those.
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Key takeaways
- Pick a YouTube giveaway winner from the video's or Short's public comments, after the closing time in your Official Rules, by drawing at random with a cryptographically secure random generator.
- Turn on one entry per channel before drawing, so a viewer who comments twenty times has the same chance as one who commented once.
- Live chat messages from a stream are not comments, so a giveaway run during a livestream should collect its entries as comments on the published video.
- YouTube removed direct messages in September 2019, so the winner is reached by replying to their comment and asking them to contact you at the email address in your Official Rules.
- Tell entrants you will never ask them to message you on Telegram or WhatsApp or to pay a fee, because accounts copying a creator's name and picture reply to giveaway comments claiming the commenter won.
- Picking the winner now? Use the YouTube comment picker to draw from a public video's or Short's comments with no login.
Draw the winner here
How do you pick a winner from YouTube comments?
The steps are the same for long-form videos and Shorts. The video must be public with comments turned on, because a comment picker reads the same public comments any viewer sees.
- Wait until the closing time in your Official Rules.
- Copy the video's or Short's link from the Share button.
- Paste it into a YouTube comment picker and check the preview shows the right video.
- Turn on one entry per channel, and the keyword rule if your rules asked entrants to include a word from the video.
- Exclude your own channel and any past winners your rules rule out.
- Set the number of winners to your winners plus your backups.
- Tick the option to publish a proof page, or start a screen recording, then draw.
- Open the winner's comment and check it follows your rules before you reply.
Why does the comment count not match the number of entries?
The number YouTube shows above the comments can include replies, and a reply is not an entry. One popular comment with forty replies adds forty to the count and still enters once. Duplicate comments from the same channel, and comments missing your keyword, also come off before the draw. So a gap between YouTube's number and the picker's entry count is normal, and it is worth saying in your rules that entries are top-level comments, one per channel.
There is also a reading limit. Free Comment Picker reads YouTube comments newest first, up to 500 on the free plan and up to 5,000 on Pro. On a video with more comments than that, the earliest comments are the ones not read. If you expect a large giveaway, draw with a plan that reads the whole thread, or say in your rules how many comments the draw reads.
| Comment | Entry? |
|---|---|
| Top-level comment that follows your rules | Yes, once per channel |
| Reply to someone else's comment | No |
| Second or later comment from the same channel | No, with one entry per channel on |
| Comment without your keyword | No, with the keyword rule on |
| Live chat message during a stream | No, live chat is not a comment |
| Your own channel's comments | No, exclude it |
Can you pick a winner from YouTube live chat?
Not with a comment picker. Live chat during a stream is a separate stream of messages, not the comment section, and it scrolls away. If you promote a giveaway during a livestream, ask viewers to enter by commenting on the video once it is published, or on a separate giveaway video, and draw from those comments.
How do you contact a YouTube giveaway winner?
YouTube ended its direct messages on 18 September 2019, so there is no private channel-to-channel message to send. The winner hears from you in public first, and you move to email from there.
- Reply to the winner's comment from your own channel, which notifies them. Say they won and ask them to email the address given in your Official Rules within the reply window.
- Post a new comment on the video naming the winner and pin it, so people who miss the notification can still see it. YouTube lets you pin a top-level comment, not a reply.
- When they email, confirm it is the same channel, then collect only what you need to deliver the prize.
- If they don't reply in the time your rules give, contact the first backup the same way.
- YouTube Help Community: Removing the ability to message directly on YouTubePosted by YouTube on 20 August 2019: direct messaging ends after 18 September 2019.
How do you protect winners from giveaway scams?
A giveaway comment section is a target. Accounts copy a creator's name and profile picture, reply to entrants saying they won, and ask them to message on Telegram or WhatsApp or to pay a shipping fee. YouTube's Spam policy treats tricking viewers into clicking a link for a "free payout" as a scam and content made only to drive people off YouTube as spam, and you can report those replies.
Put one line in your video, description and pinned comment: you will only reply from your own channel, you will only ask winners to email the address in your rules, and you will never ask for a payment or a message on another app. Then hold yourself to it, so entrants can tell the real reply from a fake one.
- YouTube Help: Spam, deceptive practices and scams policiesLists tricking viewers into clicking a link for a "free payout" as a scam, and content created solely to drive users off YouTube as off-platform diversion.
How do you prove a YouTube draw was fair?
Two ways, and they work together. A public proof page records the draw: Free Comment Picker locks a hash of the entry list before its server picks the random seed, and the page lists every proof draw run on that video, so a re-draw is visible. It is free on both plans. A screen recording of the draw, posted as a Short or in your next video, shows the same thing to viewers who will never open a link.
Free Comment Picker gives everyone one free draw a day reading up to 500 comments, with no account and no YouTube login. Pro, at $7.99/month, adds unlimited draws and up to 5,000 comments per draw. The random pick itself is the same on both.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I pick a random winner from YouTube comments?
Paste the video's or Short's link into a YouTube comment picker after your giveaway closes. Turn on one entry per channel and your keyword rule, set your winners plus backups, and draw. Free Comment Picker does this with no login, drawing with a cryptographically secure random generator in your browser.
How do I message a YouTube giveaway winner?
You can't message them privately: YouTube removed direct messages in September 2019. Reply to the winner's comment, which notifies them, and ask them to email the address in your Official Rules within the time your rules allow. Post and pin a comment naming the winner so they can find it.
Can I pick a winner from YouTube Shorts comments?
Yes. Shorts have their own comment section, and a YouTube comment picker reads it the same way as a regular video. Paste the Short's share link and draw as normal.
Does the picker read replies to YouTube comments?
No. Free Comment Picker reads top-level comments, and each top-level comment is one entry. A reply under someone else's comment does not enter the draw, which matches the usual rule of commenting on the video to enter.
How many winners can I draw from a YouTube video?
Free Comment Picker draws up to five winners in one draw, in order, so you can draw your winners and backups together. The first names win and the rest are backups, contacted in that order if a winner does not reply.