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How to pick a giveaway winner on Instagram

Instagram has no built-in giveaway picker, and scrolling the comments to choose someone isn't random. Copy the comments out, apply your entry rules, then draw from what's left. The usual catch is tags: most Instagram giveaways ask entrants to tag friends, so your picker has to count them.

Draw your Instagram winner

Your comments

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Copy your Instagram comments in three steps
  1. On desktop, open your Instagram post and expand the comments and replies you want to include.
  2. Select and copy the visible authors and comments. Load more comments first; a copied selection can't include hidden ones.
  3. Paste below, or upload an author/comment CSV. On mobile, use your browser's desktop site if copying is available, or transfer an export to this page.

0 comments → 0 eligible entries. 0 didn't tag 0 friends; 0 duplicates; 0 excluded; 0 missing the word; 0 removed.

Paste comments to see who's in.

Check this list before continuing. You can edit names on the next step. Parsing stays in your browser; eligible names are sent to Perkadoo when you draw and appear on the public results page.

Get your Instagram entries

  1. Close entries before you copy

    Wait until the deadline in your caption has passed, then edit the caption to say "Entries closed" so late commenters know they missed it. Copy after that edit, not before, or your list won't match what people saw.

  2. Open the post on a desktop browser

    Instagram.com on a laptop is the easiest place to select text. Open the post itself (not the grid), then keep clicking the circled plus icon at the bottom of the comments until no more load. Expand "View replies" too if replies count as entries in your rules.

  3. Select and copy the whole thread

    Drag from the first comment to the last and copy. You'll grab timestamps and like counts along with the usernames. That's fine: the Instagram comment picker strips that noise out and keeps the handle, the text and any @mentions.

  4. Check the count against the post

    Instagram shows a comment total under the post. If you copied 412 and it says 430, a few replies or hidden comments are missing. Hidden comments (the ones Instagram filters as offensive or spammy) only show if you tap "View hidden comments" at the end.

Pick and check the winner

  1. Paste and set your tag rule

    Drop the copied text into the comment picker. If your caption said "tag 2 friends", set the required tags to 2. Up to 5 is supported, and comments short of the number won't be eligible.

  2. Exclude your own team

    Add your brand account, staff and any co-host to the exclude list. Their replies ("Good luck everyone!") are comments too and would otherwise count.

  3. Draw and keep the results page

    The winner comes from public drand randomness published after your list is locked, so nobody, you included, can steer it. Pick one or two backup names in the same draw in case your first winner doesn't reply.

  4. DM, then announce

    Message the winner from your brand account before you post. Then share the results link in a Story or a comment so anyone who entered can check the draw for themselves.

Mistakes that make a draw look rigged

  • Picking from the first screen of comments. Instagram sorts them by relevance, so early or popular commenters get an unfair edge.
  • Counting a tag of a celebrity or a brand account as a valid tag when your rules said "tag a friend".
  • Forgetting the disclaimer that the giveaway isn't sponsored, endorsed or run by Instagram, which Instagram's promotion guidelines ask for.
  • Letting one person enter 40 times with 40 comments when the caption said one entry per person.
  • Announcing a winner whose account turns out to be a fake or a giveaway bot with no posts.

Announce the winner

Post it where people entered, and link the results page so anyone can check the draw.

Instagram winner post
🎉 We have a winner! Congrats @[winner], you've won [prize]. Check your DMs. We picked from [number] eligible comments with a random draw you can verify here: [results link]. Thanks to everyone who entered. Another one is coming soon, so keep notifications on.

Questions people ask

Does Instagram have its own giveaway picker?

No. Instagram doesn't offer a tool to pick a random commenter, and there's no comment export button in the app. Copying the comments from a desktop browser and pasting them into a picker is the simplest free route.

Should tagged friends who didn't comment be able to win?

Only if your rules said so. In most Instagram giveaways the person who comments and tags is the entrant, and the tagged friends need to comment themselves to get in.

How do I pick a winner from an Instagram Reel or carousel?

Same steps. Reels and carousel posts keep comments in the same thread, so open the post on Instagram.com, load all the comments and copy them out.

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