A web app, which is the right shape for this job
Seating charts are occasional work. You need one for a wedding, a term, a banquet, or a training day — and then not again for months. That is a poor match for software you have to install, license, and keep updated, which is why this one is a web app: open the page and it is running. There is no download step, no account wall before you can see whether it does what you need, and no version to keep current. On a school Chromebook or a locked down work laptop, that is often the difference between a tool you can use today and a ticket you file with IT.
The trade-off is honest and worth stating plainly. Because your chart is stored in your own browser rather than on a server, it is private by default and available offline once loaded — but it does not follow you to another device, and clearing your browser data clears it. Export what you want to keep. For most people that is the right bargain for a document they will print once and throw away.
What the app does
- Six table and seating shapes: round, rectangle, banquet, head table, rows of chairs, and arcs — drag, rotate, resize, and relabel any of them.
- Bulk guest entry: paste a column of names straight from a spreadsheet, or import a CSV. No retyping a roster you already have.
- Assignment that suits the situation: drag names by hand, auto-seat in list order, or shuffle at random for an impartial draw.
- Autosave plus undo: every edit is recorded, Ctrl/Cmd+Z steps back, and the chart persists in your browser between visits.
- Real exports: PNG for screens, print-ready PDF for posters and door signs, both generated in the browser.
- Eleven starting templates: weddings, classrooms, banquets, band, and corporate layouts on the templates page — one click loads any of them.
Pick the starting point that matches your event
Every use case below opens the same app with a purpose-built layout already placed, which is faster than starting from an empty canvas: weddings, classrooms, banquets, concert band, and corporate events. Or start from the free seating chart maker and build the room yourself.