Ranked-choice group assignment

Stop sorting people by hand. Let everyone pick.

People rank their choices for workshops, electives, camps or projects. PickAndRank places everyone fairly and tells each person why.

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Free for up to 30 people · No account needed for participants

A cheerful crowd ranking their choices on their phones and arriving at pottery, painting and woodwork stations.A cheerful crowd ranking their choices on their phones and arriving at pottery, painting and woodwork stations.A cheerful crowd ranking their choices on their phones and arriving at pottery, painting and woodwork stations.

Why PickAndRank

Sign-up sheets reward speed. Spreadsheets eat your weekend.

First come, first served

The fastest clickers take the popular options. Everyone else gets leftovers, and you get the complaints.

Forms and spreadsheets

You collect choices, then spend hours juggling names into rows, and still can't prove it was fair.

PickAndRank

Everyone ranks before the deadline. One click places everyone at once, with the best overall fit and a plain reason for every placement.

Painting

You're in

Your 2nd choice. Pottery (your 1st) was full.

How it works

From picks to groups in three steps.

  1. Set up your options

    Add workshops, classes or projects, with seats, minimums and rounds.

  2. Share one link

    People rank on their phone in under a minute. No app, no account.

  3. Run, review, publish

    Check the groups, adjust if you like, and send everyone their spot.

Try it

See it place eight people in one click.

Pottery only has 3 seats and everyone wants it. Change anyone's ranking, then press Place everyone to see who goes where, and why.

With JavaScript on, you could try this right here. Without it, the quickest way to see it is to set up an event of your own.

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Why it's fair

  • The best overall fit

    It considers everyone at once, not one at a time, so no one is sacrificed for an early bird.

  • A reason for every placement

    "Your 2nd choice. Pottery (your 1st) was full." Fewer emails asking why.

  • Your rules

    Seat limits, minimums, several rounds with no repeats, and who's eligible for what.

Use cases

Made for

  • A group at a whiteboard, one person holding a ticket.

    Workshops

    Conference and training days with limited seats.

  • Two students comparing a ranked list on a phone, with books at their feet.

    Electives

    Students rank courses, and every class stays within its size.

  • Two campers cheering beside an archery target, one holding a paddle.

    Camps

    Activities across several sessions, with no repeats.

  • A team around a table with a laptop, planning a project.

    Capstone projects

    Teams formed from what each student ranked.

  • Three people walking through three different doors.

    Breakout sessions

    Spread a big group across rooms, round by round.

See every use case

Interest checks

Not sure what to offer yet? Ask first.

  1. Ask

    List the options you're thinking of. People rank them on their phone, with no account.

  2. See what people want

    How many put each option 1st, in their top 3, or anywhere on their list.

  3. Turn it into an event

    Keep the options worth running and add seats. Same link, and everyone's picks are kept.

How interest checks work

FAQ

Questions

Do participants need an account?

No. They open your link, enter their name, and rank. They get a personal code to come back with.

What makes it fair?

Everyone ranks before it closes, so being first doesn't help. Then everyone is placed at once, as close to their top choices as the seats allow. Ties are settled by a seeded draw, not by who signed up first. How placement works

What if there aren't enough seats?

Before you run it, we show you seats against people, round by round. If anyone can't be placed, your results show who and why, and you can add seats and run it again.

Can people change their picks?

Yes, as often as they like until sign-ups close.

Can I set a minimum for an option?

Yes. If an option doesn't reach its minimum it's cancelled for that round, and the people who wanted it are placed elsewhere and told why.

Can it handle more than one round?

Yes, on upgraded events: Pro or Large. Nobody gets the same option twice.

What if everyone ranks the same way?

Then the seats decide how many people land in each option, and a fair random draw decides who. The draw uses a secure random number created for your event. The organizer can't see it or change it, and it never changes, so placing everyone again with the same rankings and seats gives the same result. Nobody can keep re-running it until a friend gets the seat. Organizers can still move people by hand, and every move is recorded. How placement works

Do people see each other's results?

No. Each person sees only their own place, with their personal code.

What if I don't know what to offer yet?

Run an interest check first. People rank the options you're thinking of, with the same link and no account. You see how many put each one 1st and in their top 3. Then keep the ones worth running, add seats, and turn it into an event: everyone keeps their link and their picks.

Let everyone pick. We'll work out who goes where.

Every event is free for up to 30 people. Set it up in five minutes.

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