Instagram comment picker
Pick random giveaway winners from the comments on your own Instagram post. Fair, free and official: comments are read through Instagram's API, never scraped, and never stored.
Already have an account? Open the picker
From post to winner in four steps
- 1Connect Instagram. Sign in with your Instagram professional account. It's the same connection MuChat uses for automations.
- 2Choose the post. Pick the giveaway post from your recent posts and the picker loads its comments.
- 3Set the rules. One entry per person, a required word or hashtag, a minimum number of @mentions, a closing time, and accounts that can't win.
- 4Draw. Choose how many winners and backups you need, draw, and copy the result to share.
Run the giveaway you announced
Set the same rules you wrote in your caption, and the picker shows how many comments each rule leaves out before you draw.
One entry per person
Someone who comments ten times still gets one ticket, so the draw stays fair.
Keyword or hashtag
Only comments that include your word count. Capital letters and accents don't matter.
Tag friends
Require a minimum number of different @mentions in the comment. Tagging yourself doesn't count.
Closing time
Comments posted after entries closed are left out automatically.
Can't win
Leave out your own account, your team and past winners.
Backups
Draw backup winners in order, for anyone who doesn't reply in time.
What an official picker can't do
Some pickers promise follower checks and work on any post. They can only do that by scraping Instagram, which its terms forbid. MuChat sticks to what Instagram's API allows:
- It works on posts from your own connected account, not anyone else's.
- It can't check whether commenters follow you, because Instagram doesn't share that. Check the winner's profile yourself if following is a rule.
- It counts top-level comments, not replies, and reads up to 2,500 of the most recent.
Need a follow check, or every entrant answered? The giveaway template DMs each person who comments your keyword, checks they follow you when they tap to enter, and tags them as entered.
Comment picker questions
Is the Instagram comment picker free?
Yes. It's included on every MuChat plan, the Free plan too, with no limit on how many giveaways you draw and no card needed.
Why do I have to connect my Instagram account?
Because the picker reads comments through Instagram's official API, and Instagram only lets an account's owner read its comments that way. Tools that just ask for a post link usually scrape Instagram, which breaks its terms and can stop working without warning. You sign in with Instagram itself; MuChat never sees your password.
Can I pick a winner from someone else's post?
No. The picker only works on posts from the Instagram professional account you've connected. If a partner hosts the giveaway, they connect their account and run the draw.
Can it check that the winner follows my account?
Not from comments: Instagram doesn't share an account's followers with apps. If following is one of your rules, open the winner's profile before announcing them and draw again if they don't qualify. The MuChat giveaway template can check it: when someone taps its entry button in your DMs, Instagram tells MuChat whether they follow you.
How is the winner chosen?
After your rules are applied, every remaining entry has the same chance. The draw uses your browser's cryptographic random number generator, and you can add backup winners in case someone doesn't reply.
How many comments can it read?
Up to 2,500 of the most recent comments on a post, in one go. Replies to other comments aren't counted as entries, only top-level comments.
Do you store the comments?
No. They're loaded when you ask, used for the draw in your browser and discarded when you leave the page.
What does Instagram require from a giveaway?
You're responsible for running it lawfully: official rules, eligibility and prizes that follow local law, no asking people to tag themselves in photos they aren't in, and a statement that the promotion isn't sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. The picker gives you that statement to copy.
Planning one? Read how to do a giveaway on Instagram and the giveaway rules to include. Afterwards, check how the post did with the engagement rate calculator.
Pick your winner
Connect your Instagram professional account and draw from your giveaway post in a couple of minutes. Free, no card needed.