Teams

How to split a group into fair random teams

Random teams avoid picking favourites and keep friendships from forming the same cliques every time. Here is how to make balanced groups quickly and what to do when the numbers do not divide evenly.

By John Mark MolinaUpdated 2026-10-074 min read

Choose how you want to split

Open the team splitter from the picker. There are two ways to describe the result:

  • Number of teams: "I need 4 teams." People are shuffled and dealt out like cards, so team sizes differ by at most one.
  • People per team: "I want groups of 3." The tool works out how many teams are needed so no team is larger than your target.

What happens with uneven numbers

Thirteen people in four teams cannot be equal, so the tool produces teams of 4, 3, 3 and 3. Because people are dealt one at a time to each team in turn, the extra person never stacks on one team. If you need a team to be exactly the same size, add a placeholder name such as "Observer" or run two rounds.

Reshuffle as needed

Random can occasionally put two people together who just worked together, or keep rivals apart in a way that defeats the purpose. Reshuffling is free, but agree a limit in advance, for example one reshuffle, or the teams stop feeling random.

Common uses

  • Workshops and training: mix departments so people meet new colleagues.
  • Sports and games: create fair sides without captains picking last.
  • Hackathons and projects: form groups quickly, then let each team choose its topic.
  • Classrooms: change groups every unit so students collaborate widely.

Export and share

Copy the teams as text for a chat message or download a CSV with one row per member. The splitter uses unique names, so a person who holds several raffle entries still lands on exactly one team. You can also limit the split to people who have not won yet.

Fairness note

Random teams are fair in process, not guaranteed balanced in skill. If skill balance matters, split into skill bands first (for example beginners and experts) and split each band separately, then combine the groups.

Try it with your own list

Free, private and ready in seconds. No sign-up, and your names stay on your device.

Open the name picker