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Bracket

Seed your options into a knockout bracket. The group votes each matchup, and you advance the winners round by round.

  • Free
  • No account
  • Share link

Add at least two. Paste a list to fill several at once.

Options are seeded into a knockout bracket. You advance the rounds as votes come in.

Everyone with the link builds the list together, then you start voting when it's ready.

Settings

Voters see a live countdown. When it hits zero, voting closes on its own.

Shows who voted. Choices stay private.

Anyone with the link can add an option to the list.

How it works

  1. Add your options, up to forty, and they're seeded into a knockout bracket.

  2. Share one link. The group votes on each matchup as it comes up.

  3. You advance the bracket round by round until one option is left standing.

What is a bracket vote?

A bracket vote takes a knockout tournament bracket, the same shape used for March Madness or a sports playoff, and uses it to narrow down a list by voting instead of by score. Options are seeded into matchups, the group votes on each head-to-head pairing, and the winner of each matchup advances to the next round.

Unlike a single big vote, a bracket spreads the decision out over several smaller ones, which makes a long list feel manageable and adds a bit of drama along the way. The creator advances each round once voting on the current matchups is done, so the bracket moves at whatever pace the group needs.

It suits a list too long for a single ranked or approval vote to feel satisfying, where a run of head-to-head matchups is easier to follow than one long ballot. Ties within a matchup are settled by the creator's chosen method: deterministically, a coin flip, or a wheel spin, so a close pairing never stalls the whole bracket.

Related ways to decide

This or thatRapid-fire either-orHead to headCompare two at a timeRanked choiceRank the options, watch the runoff

Best for

Narrowing a big list

Turn a long list of contenders into a single winner through a series of small, manageable matchups instead of one big vote.

Office contests and bracket madness

Run a lighthearted knockout for best snack, best desk, or office pizza topping with real drama at each round.

Book of the year or best-of lists

Seed a shortlist and let the group settle it matchup by matchup instead of arguing over a single ranked list.

When to use something else

A bracket adds structure and pacing that a single vote doesn't have, which makes it a good fit for longer lists and for groups that enjoy the tournament format. For a faster, lighter version of the same head-to-head idea, this or that runs through pairs without the round-by-round bracket structure. To compare every option against every other one methodically instead of through a bracket draw, head to head (pairwise) voting covers every pairing.

Questions people ask

Is there a free bracket vote maker?
Yes. Votably is a free bracket vote maker with no sign up for the creator or for voters. Seed your options into a knockout bracket, share one link, and the group votes on each matchup while you advance the rounds.
What is a tournament bracket with voting?
A tournament bracket with voting seeds a list of options into a knockout bracket, like March Madness, and instead of scores deciding each matchup, the group votes on which option advances. Votably's bracket runs the matchups, tallies each vote, and lets the creator move the winner into the next round.
How many people can vote?
A bracket on Votably works well for groups of three to twenty people, which suits an office contest, a friend group narrowing a big list, or a book club settling a best-of debate matchup by matchup.

Decisions are kept for 30 days, then deleted. One vote per phone. The creator decides when results are revealed.