Random Team Generator
Paste your names, choose how many teams, and get an even random split. Useful for PE lessons, group projects and five-a-side.
How the split stays even
The names are shuffled once, then dealt round-robin — like dealing cards. That guarantees team sizes never differ by more than one person, and that every possible arrangement is equally likely. The naive alternative, slicing a shuffled list into consecutive chunks, is also fair but produces one undersized team at the end when the numbers do not divide evenly. Dealing spreads the remainder across teams instead, which is what people expect.
Random is not the same as balanced
This tool distributes people evenly by count. It knows nothing about ability, so a genuinely random split will sometimes put the four strongest players together — that is what randomness does.
If you need balanced teams rather than random ones, the usual approach is snake drafting: rank everyone by ability, then assign in the order 1-2-3-3-2-1-1-2-3, reversing each round. That spreads strength evenly and is far better than captains picking sides, which is both slower and unkind to whoever goes last.
For classrooms, random assignment has a specific virtue: it removes the social dynamics of self-selection, so nobody has to negotiate their way into a group.
Common uses
| Situation | Split by | Typical setting |
|---|---|---|
| PE lesson | Number of teams | 2 or 4 |
| Group project | Team size | 3–4 per group |
| Five-a-side | Team size | 5 |
| Quiz night | Number of teams | 4–6 |
| Secret Santa groups | Team size | 5–8 |
| Breakout rooms | Team size | 4–5 |
How to use the Random Team Generator
- Paste your names, one per line.
- Choose whether you are fixing the number of teams or the size of each team.
- Press generate. Use reshuffle if the split looks lopsided in some other way.
Frequently asked questions
Are the teams evenly sized?
As even as the numbers allow. Names are dealt one at a time across the teams, so sizes never differ by more than one person.
Can I split by team size instead of team count?
Yes. Switch to "team size" and enter how many people you want per team; the number of teams is worked out for you.
Does it balance teams by ability?
No — the split is purely random. For balanced teams, rank players yourself and use a snake draft, as described above.
Can I keep certain people apart or together?
Not automatically. Generate the teams, then swap two people manually if a particular pairing does not work.
Are the names stored?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is saved or transmitted.
Related tools
Last reviewed September 4, 2026. Results are estimates for general information only.