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Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browserSeating Chart Generator
Paste your names, choose round tables or rows of desks, add keep-apart or keep-together pairs, and get a printable seating plan in one click.
In a grid, “apart” means not in touching seats (beside, in front, behind or diagonal) and “together” means touching. At tables, apart means different tables and together means the same table.
How the seating chart generator works
Type or paste one name per line. Choose a layout: tables, where the people are dealt into groups of the size you set, or rows of desks, where each person is placed in a numbered seat on a grid with the front of the room at the top. The order is a random shuffle seeded from your browser's secure random number generator, so every name has the same chance of any seat. The seed is kept in the share link, which means the person you send it to sees exactly the same plan.
Keep people apart or together
Real seating plans are never completely random. Add pairs in the two boxes, one pair per line, with the names separated by a slash, for example Ana / Ben. The generator then searches for a layout that follows every rule. At a table, apart means different tables. On a grid, apart means not touching: not next to each other, not in front or behind, and not diagonal. If the rules cannot all be met, it still gives you the best plan it found and lists the rule it broke, so you can drop one or add space.
Printing the plan
Press Print for a clean page that shows only the plan. Grid plans are numbered by row and seat, such as 2-4 for row two, fourth seat, and tables are numbered. Copy plan gives plain text for an email or a message, and Export CSV gives a file with one row per person for a spreadsheet or a place-card mail merge.
What a random plan will not do for you
A shuffle is fair, not clever. It does not know who needs to sit near the front, who uses a wheelchair, who is a parent with a baby, or which two relatives have not spoken since 2019. Handle those with a rule or a manual edit after you copy the plan. For tables that need an even mix, the sizes differ by at most one person.
Other seating tools
For a school room use the classroom seating chart generator, which opens on a desks grid. For a reception see the wedding table seating generator. To make groups instead of seats, use the random group generator.
Privacy
Names stay in your browser. The page keeps your last list on this device so it can offer it back, and you can clear it with the Clear button. A share link contains the names inside the link, so send it only to people who should see them.
- Is the seating chart really random?
- Yes. The order comes from a seeded shuffle that starts from your browser's cryptographic random number generator. Every person has the same chance of every seat before your rules are applied.
- How do I keep two people apart?
- Type both names in the Keep apart box, separated by a slash, one pair per line. At tables they will be at different tables. In a grid they will not be in touching seats.
- How do I keep a couple together?
- Put them in the Keep together box. They will share a table or sit in touching seats.
- Can I print the plan?
- Yes. Press Print and the page shows only the plan. Use Export CSV for a spreadsheet.
- What if the rules are impossible?
- The generator tells you which rules it could not satisfy and shows the best plan it found. Remove a rule or add tables, rows or seats.
- Does it work for a classroom?
- Yes. Choose rows of desks, set the rows and seats per row, and tick fill the front rows first if you have fewer pupils than seats.
- Are names uploaded anywhere?
- No. Everything runs in your browser. Only your last list is kept on your device so it can be restored.