NameWheel vs Spin the Wheel (spinthewheel.io): An Honest 2026 Comparison

Spin the Wheel at spinthewheel.io and NameWheel have more in common than most wheel spinners: both take fairness seriously enough to publish draws that anyone can check afterwards. That makes this comparison more interesting than "which wheel has more colours". We build NameWheel, so we have kept to facts from spinthewheel.io's own pages, linked below, and we say where it is ahead.

Side by Side

Sources, read on 29 October 2026: spinthewheel.io, its FAQ, provably fair spins, stream overlay and Twitch giveaway pages; NameWheel features and pricing.

Two Ways to Prove a Draw

Both sites use the same core idea, often called commit and reveal. Before the result exists, the server commits to a secret random value by publishing a fingerprint of it. The visitor's browser then adds its own random value. The winner is calculated from both with a published method, and afterwards the server reveals its secret so anyone can repeat the calculation. Neither side can steer the result alone: the server cannot swap its secret after seeing the browser's value, and the browser cannot predict the server's.

The details differ in ways that matter for particular jobs.

• What is locked. Spin the Wheel locks the saved wheel state, including entries, order and weights, at the moment of the draw. NameWheel does the same, and also lets you freeze a list in advance, publishing it at its own link when entries close. That answers the question "were late entries added or removed before the draw?" before anyone asks it.
• What people see afterwards. Spin the Wheel publishes a Verified Replay page where the visitor's browser repeats the checks. NameWheel publishes a proof page that does the same, signed with an Ed25519 key, and with PRO or a single $4.99 purchase it attaches a recording of the actual spin, with the video's own fingerprint on the record.
• Who can run one. Both need a free account for verified draws. NameWheel allows up to 20 certified draws in any 24 hours.

Spin the Wheel's documentation is thorough on the limits too: it says plainly that a proof shows the published spin was not tampered with, not that the entries were complete or truthful. We agree, and the same applies to NameWheel. Our full method is in the TrueSpin specification.

Streams and Giveaways

For live streaming, Spin the Wheel has the more complete giveaway system. Connect a Twitch or YouTube channel, choose a keyword such as !enter, and anyone who types it in chat is entered once. You can combine Twitch and YouTube viewers in one giveaway, and when you draw, the winner and a Verified Replay link are posted back to chat automatically. Any of its wheels can also go on stream as a transparent browser source by adding ?stream=1 to the link.

NameWheel's approach is simpler: the OBS wheel overlay builds a transparent wheel from a link and can spin on a key, a click or a scene switch, and certified draws handle proof. Entries come from a list you paste, not from chat. If chat entry is what you need, Spin the Wheel is the better fit today. If you want a scene to spin the wheel the moment it goes live, or a marble race your chat can cheer for, NameWheel has those.

Classrooms and Groups

Spin the Wheel's standout classroom feature is multiple wheels: up to eight on one page, which makes quick quizzes possible, such as one wheel for a student and another for a question. It also has if and then reactions that change what happens depending on where a wheel lands, ready made wheels, themes, and even sheet music entries for music lessons.

NameWheel goes wider rather than deeper on a single page. Its wheel has Eliminate mode for calling every student once, Teams mode for building groups in front of the class, and Tally for points races. Around it sit a team generator, a seating chart generator, a bingo card generator and caller, and the marble race for presentation orders. Teachers who want one site for picking, grouping and seating will find more of it here.

For Developers and AI Assistants

NameWheel has a free public API with no key: pick, shuffle, teams and numbers, with open CORS, plus certified draws through an API key. It also runs an MCP server so Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants can spin wheels and run certified draws for you. Spin the Wheel offers a Discord bot and an embeddable iframe with an optional editor; we did not find a public API described on its site.

Prices and Ads

Spin the Wheel is free and says openly that ads fund it; its FAQ notes that ad units can be closed and that full screen mode helps. It also accepts donations. We did not find a paid plan.

NameWheel's wheel is free to spin, and NameWheel PRO is $9.99 a month, $49 a year, or $99 once for a limited Founder licence. PRO adds weighted entries, photos on slices, your own logo, Bracket mode, Google Sheets live sync and unlimited certified spin videos.

Questions