Quickly and fairly create random buddy pairs or groups — perfect for classrooms, events, and team activities.
New! 🎉 You can paste entire columns from spreadsheets directly into the input
Follow these simple steps to create random, fair buddy groups in seconds:
Quick, fair, and free—Buddy Matcher makes organising groups effortless!
Buddy Matcher is a free online tool that helps you create random pairs, trios, or groups from any list of names. Whether you're organising a classroom activity, a team event, or a social get-together, Buddy Matcher makes it quick, fair, and fun to match people up.
No more scribbling names on paper or fiddling with spreadsheets. With Buddy Matcher, everything happens instantly in your browser — simply enter the names, select a group size, and click generate. The results appear right away, beautifully organised and ready to use.
We all know how awkward and time-consuming it can be to create random teams or partnerships. Some people get picked last, others are paired with the same people every time, and often the process feels anything but random. Buddy Matcher fixes that by ensuring that everyone gets a fair shot — and that the experience of grouping people feels light, joyful, and effortless.
The app is built with simplicity and privacy in mind. You don’t need to create an account, sign in, or share your data. Everything runs locally in your browser, meaning your lists and results never leave your device.
Teachers use Buddy Matcher to split students into groups for science projects, reading pairs, debates, or quick team quizzes. It keeps things fair and saves valuable lesson time.
Managers and HR teams use it to randomly assign colleagues to discussion groups, coffee-chat partners, or cross-team collaborations. It’s a great way to build stronger connections in the workplace.
Event organisers love using Buddy Matcher to quickly create fun, mixed groups for games, team-building, or icebreakers — it’s especially handy for Secret Santa or quiz nights.
Use it for board games, holiday games, or family challenges. It’s an easy way to keep things spontaneous and make sure everyone gets a fair turn.
Moderators use Buddy Matcher to form random teams for online games, Discord challenges, or virtual study groups.
At Christmas, Buddy Matcher doubles as a fun Secret Santa tool — randomly matching names while keeping it fair and simple. You can even customise the icon between matches to suit the season.
That’s it. No sign-ups, no setup, no hassle — just simple, instant results.
“I used Buddy Matcher for a training day with 30 staff and it worked perfectly. Everyone loved how quick and fun it was!” — Sarah, HR Manager
“Our kids’ club uses it weekly to mix up activity teams. So much easier than drawing names from a hat.” — Tom, Youth Leader
Can I paste from Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes — just copy your list of names (one per line or cell) and paste directly into the app.
What if my group size doesn’t divide evenly?
Buddy Matcher automatically balances the last few names, so you won’t end up with any lonely singles.
Do I need to create an account?
No accounts, no emails, no passwords — everything works straight from your browser.
Is it really free?
Yes. Buddy Matcher is completely free to use and always will be. You might see ads to help support the site’s hosting costs.
Does it work offline?
As long as the page is loaded, most features will still work offline since all data is stored locally in your browser.
"Absolutely love how easy this is to use – saved me so much time during our work event!" – Sarah, HR Manager
"Perfect for classroom pairings. My students actually look forward to seeing who they’ll get!" – Mr. Turner, Teacher
"We used Buddy Matcher for our pub quiz night and it worked like a charm. Simple and fun!" – Jake, Quiz Host
Buddy Matcher was built for busy teachers, organisers, and community leaders who just want an easy way to bring people together. Behind every name you type is a person waiting to connect — and that’s what this app celebrates: simple, happy human connections.
We believe small tools like this can make a big difference. They help people laugh, collaborate, and bond in ways that make life just a little more joyful.
I’m a dad of two young children with a full-time job that keeps me busy from morning to night. Yet, in the evenings after the kids are asleep, I carve out time to teach myself app development—one line of code at a time. I started this journey to escape the rat race and build a life where I’m more in control of my time and able to focus on what truly matters: family, friends, and all the things I love.
This app was born from a simple idea I had while watching a colleague draw names from a hat during a team building day. I thought, “There’s got to be a quicker, more fun way of doing that!” and that's when Buddy Matcher was born. It’s my first step towards creating tools that make life easier and more enjoyable for others. Whatever you use it for, I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed making it!
Buddy Matcher started as a small side project in the evenings after my kids went to bed. I wanted to learn how to build something useful with my own two hands — a simple, fun web app that solved a real problem. I began with the basics: HTML, CSS, and a lot of trial and error. Over time, I added JavaScript features, Bootstrap for styling, and eventually made it fully mobile-friendly.
Each new feature came with its own challenge — from randomising the buddy pairs to making the layout look great on every device. I spent countless nights debugging and refining until everything just worked. It’s still a work in progress, but that’s part of the fun. I’ve learned that even small, independent creators can make tools that people genuinely enjoy using.
If you’re someone who’s curious about coding or thinking of starting your own project, my advice is simple: start small, stay consistent, and keep improving. You don’t need to be an expert to build something meaningful — you just need the will to begin.
Buddy Matcher is growing thanks to word of mouth and people like you who share it with friends, colleagues, and communities. If you’ve enjoyed using it, please help spread the word — every share, mention, or bit of feedback makes a real difference.
Do you write about technology, productivity, or fun web tools? I’d love to hear from you. Whether you’d like to feature Buddy Matcher in a blog, article, or social media post, or even suggest a new feature, your input is always welcome.
If you want to collaborate, offer ideas, or simply say hi — email me anytime.
At Buddy Matcher (www.buddymatcher.co.uk), your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights.
We may collect personal information you provide (such as your name or email if you contact us) and non-personal data such as browser type, device, and usage patterns through cookies.
Buddy Matcher uses cookies to improve your experience, analyse traffic, and show personalised ads. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this site or other websites.
Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet. You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
You can disable cookies in your browser settings. Please note that some features of our site may not function properly if cookies are disabled.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at buddyup@buddymatcher.com.
Buddy Matcher does not collect or store any personal information. All names entered are processed locally in your browser and are never sent to our servers. We use Google AdSense to show ads and help keep this tool free.
By using this site, you agree that any generated matches are for fun and practical use only. We make no guarantees about outcomes or randomisation fairness.
Support Buddy Matcher — every coffee helps keep it free!