Random pair generator
Paste a list of names and get random pairs or partners with no repeats: advance the round and everyone gets a new partner until everyone has worked together. Supports marking people as absent, keeping two people apart, and printing a single round or the whole cycle. Resume from a saved link or QR code. No login needed.
Anyone away this round?
Mark who is away. Their partner is re-paired for this round only.
How it works
The tool shuffles your list once, then works through every possible pairing in a fixed rotation, the way a round-robin tournament schedules its matches, guaranteeing no repeats.
A round is whatever you need it to be: a lesson, a day, a week, a term, or a one-off. The tool does not know about dates. If you only need one set of pairs, round 1 is it.
Nothing is sent anywhere. The list lives in the link itself and in your browser. Bookmark the link or keep the printout, which carries it as a QR code.
Questions
What is this useful for?
Anywhere the same people keep needing a partner and you want the pairing to be fair and visibly not your choice: classroom partners and study buddies over a term, pair programming rotations, peer review, conversation practice in a language class, icebreakers and workshops, sports drills, or a club night. One round is a quick fair pairing; the rotation is for groups that meet again.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
Free, no account, no sign-up.
Does it avoid repeat pairs?
Yes. For an even number of names, a cycle is one round fewer than the number of names, and every pair happens exactly once. For an odd number, one person sits out or joins a three each round, and the cycle is as long as the list.
What happens with an odd number of people?
You choose, under Advanced options: one person joins a pair as a three, or works alone that round. Over a cycle, everyone gets a turn.
Someone is away today
Open Anyone away this round? under the pairs and mark them. Their partner is paired with someone else whose partner is away. If nobody else is free, they join a pair as a three or work alone, whichever the odd-number setting says. The next round is unaffected.
Are the names stored anywhere?
Only in the link and in your browser. The list is compressed into the page address and kept in your browser's local storage, and no request to this site or any other carries it. Anyone with the link or a printout can open the list. The privacy page says the same in full.
Can I pair one list with another list?
Not here. This tool pairs people within one list. For matching list A to list B, search for a two-list matcher.
Can I use it for Secret Santa?
Not really. This tool makes pairs, so you and your partner would give to each other and you would know who your gift is from. Secret Santa needs a one-way chain, where you give to one person and receive from someone else. Search for a Secret Santa generator instead.
Can it do groups of three, or something else?
Not right now, but drop me a line and I'll consider it!
My school's filter blocks the site
New sites are sometimes blocked until the filter company categorises them. Ask your IT team to allow it; the privacy page explains that the site has no accounts and sends no student data anywhere, which is usually what they need to know.