How to Pick a Winner for a YouTube Giveaway (Videos and Shorts, 2026)
The short answer: copy your video's link (Share, then Copy link), paste it into a comment picker that reads public YouTube comments, set your rules (one entry per person, a required keyword, your own comments left out), draw at random with backups, and check the winner's channel before you announce. It takes a couple of minutes. The details below are what make the draw fair, and what stop people calling it rigged.
We make the free YouTube comment picker at The Pick Is Right, so we use it in the examples, but the steps are the same with any tool.
Step 1: Copy the right link
In the YouTube app, open the video or Short, tap Share, then Copy link. All of these work:
- Videos:
youtube.com/watch?v=…oryoutu.be/… - Shorts:
youtube.com/shorts/… - Live streams and premieres:
youtube.com/live/…, for the comments posted under the video
A link to your channel (youtube.com/@yourname) or to a playlist won't work. Comments belong to a single video, so a picker needs that video's link. Community posts have comments too, but most pickers, ours included, can't read them, so run giveaways on a video or a Short.
Step 2: Decide what counts as an entry
Write these choices into your rules before the giveaway starts, then set the picker to match. Changing the rules after you've seen the comments is the quickest way to get accused of a rigged draw.
| Rule | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| One entry per person | Each person counts once, however many times they comment. Matched by channel, so changing a display name doesn't create a second entry. | Almost always. It's the fairest default. |
| Required keyword or hashtag | People must include your word, hashtag or emoji in at least one comment. With one entry per person (the default) that's one entry each; if you allow extra entries, each of their comments counts. | When you ask people to answer a question or to comment a word like GIVEAWAY. |
| @mention friends | Entrants must mention a set number of different @handles. | When you want entrants to bring friends. Keep it to one or two. |
| Top-level comments only | Replies to other people's comments don't count. | The usual rule. Count replies only if your rules say so. |
| Leave out the creator | Your own comments and replies can't win. | Always. It's on by default in our picker. |
| Only comments you hearted | Draws only from comments you've hearted on YouTube. | "Best answer wins" giveaways: heart your favourites, then draw. |
| Minimum length or likes | Drops "first!" and single-emoji comments, or comments with too few likes. | When you want real answers rather than drive-by comments. |
| Posted in the last N days | Only recent comments count. Approximate, because YouTube shows times like "3 weeks ago". | Rarely needed. It's simpler to draw as soon as the giveaway closes. |
Step 3: Approve comments held for review
YouTube holds some comments for review, often ones with links or words that look like spam. Held comments "aren't publicly visible, unless you approve them," and YouTube Studio keeps them for up to 60 days (YouTube Help). Because they aren't public, no picker can see them.
Before you draw, open your comments in YouTube Studio, check the Held for review tab, and approve the genuine entries. Otherwise real entrants are left out without anyone noticing.
Step 4: Expect fewer entries than YouTube's comment count
The number under your video counts every comment and every reply. A fair draw almost always has fewer entries than that:
- Replies are in YouTube's count, but most giveaways only count top-level comments.
- Repeat commenters are one entry each when you allow one entry per person.
- Your own comments are left out.
- Held, deleted or spam-filtered comments aren't public, so they can't be drawn.
- Comments that miss your rules (no keyword, too short) drop out.
The Pick Is Right lists every comment it read, whether it qualified and, if not, why. If someone asks why they didn't win, you can show them.
Step 5: Draw the winner and backups
A fair draw gives every qualifying person the same chance and picks with real randomness, not "whoever I scrolled to". We shuffle the qualifying entries with a cryptographically secure random generator and draw backup winners in the same draw, so if a winner never replies you can swap in the next one without running it again. Here's exactly how the draw works.
Step 6: Check the winner before you announce
- Open their channel. Every winner links to the channel that wrote the comment. Make sure it's a real person and not a spam account.
- Re-read the winning comment against your rules, including anything no tool can check, like "one entry per household".
- Don't promise checks nobody can do. No picker can verify that someone subscribed or liked the video, because YouTube keeps both private. See can you require subscribing or liking?
Step 7: Announce it where people will see it
YouTube no longer has private messages, so your announcement is also how the winner finds out. Most creators combine:
- A reply to the winning comment from your channel, and a pinned comment naming the winner's @handle.
- A community post, video or Short showing the draw. The Pick Is Right makes a winner-reveal video (MP4) from your real entrants that you can post as a Short.
- The public results page link, so anyone can see every entry and why it did or didn't qualify.
Give the winner a deadline to reply, such as 72 hours, and say in your rules that you'll never ask a winner to pay or to message another account. Scammers copy creators' names to reach entrants first: here's how to spot and stop them.
Picking by hand vs using a picker
| Method | Random? | Applies your rules? | Proof you can share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrolling and choosing | No | No | No |
| Random number, then counting down the comments | Partly: YouTube's comment order changes between Top and Newest | No | No |
| A comment picker | Yes | Yes, and removes duplicates | Yes: a results page listing every entry |
More YouTube giveaway guides
- YouTube giveaway rules: what YouTube's contest policies require
- How to run a YouTube Shorts giveaway
- Can you require subscribing or liking in a YouTube giveaway?
- YouTube giveaway scams: spotting "you won" impersonators
- Best YouTube comment pickers, compared honestly
Pick your YouTube winner free
Paste your video or Shorts link into the free YouTube comment picker. Videos with up to 250 comments are free, and you never sign in to Google. Bigger videos are a one-time payment from $2.99.
Frequently asked questions
Can you pick a winner from YouTube Shorts comments?
Yes. Copy the Short's link (Share, then Copy link) and paste it into a picker that supports Shorts. Shorts comments work exactly like comments on a regular video.
Can a comment picker draw from YouTube live chat?
Not from the chat itself: live chat messages aren't comments. You can draw from the comments posted under a live stream or its replay by pasting the live video's link.
Should replies count as giveaway entries?
Usually not. Most giveaway rules mean top-level comments. If your rules say replies count, turn replies on in the picker so the draw matches.
How many winners can I pick?
With The Pick Is Right you can pick up to 10 winners without an account, or up to 50 with a free account, and backup winners are drawn at the same time.
What if the winner doesn't reply?
Wait for the deadline you stated in your rules (48 to 72 hours is common), then use a backup. A re-roll swaps in the next backup, who already met every rule.
Is The Pick Is Right's YouTube comment picker free?
Yes for videos and Shorts with up to 250 comments, with no account. Bigger videos use one-time pricing from $2.99, and you see the price before you pay.