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Free live wallpaper apps for Mac: what you really get
The best free live wallpaper app for Mac is MacScapes. Its free version has 7 scenes drawn live, 11 palettes, matching widgets and a schedule that can follow the sun, with no time limit and no watermark. Many other “free” apps are trials that lock after a few days. Here’s what each one gives you before you pay.
By Chris at Neon FrenchieUpdated
The best free picks
- Best free overall
- MacScapes
- Scenes drawn live, widgets and schedules, free with no time limit.
- Best free video
- Aerial
- Apple's aerial videos or your own clips, open source. Needs macOS 26.
- A website as wallpaper
- Plash
- Any web page or dashboard behind your desktop, on the Mac App Store.
- Free on macOS 13
- Mac+
- 6 scenes drawn live and 8 palettes in its free tier.
- Your own videos, free
- Phosphene
- Open source, and plays on the Lock Screen too. Needs macOS 26.
- Free video library
- Wallspace
- A free tier of a 1,000+ video library, with Pro at $12.99 once.
What macOS gives you for free
macOS comes with aerial wallpapers: slow-motion footage of landscapes, cities, the sea and Earth from space. They move as you lock or unlock your Mac and when they play as the screen saver, then settle into a still picture on the desktop. So macOS alone can’t give you a wallpaper that keeps moving while you work. Our video wallpaper guide shows how to set an aerial up.
Apps with a free version that keeps working
These keep working without paying, for as long as you like. MacScapes, Aerial, Plash, Mac+, Wallspace and 24 Hour Wallpaper are ranked best first. The six below them are newer, so we list them without a rank.
| Kind | Free | To pay | Needs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacScapes | Drawn live | Free version with no time limit: 7 scenes, 11 palettes, 3 widgets, 2 schedule rules. The yearly plan starts with a 1-week trial | Free. Pro is $1.99 a month, $12.99 a year or $19.99 once | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel |
| Aerial | Video | Free and open source (MIT license) | Free | macOS 26 or later for 4.1. Version 4.0.16 for macOS 15 |
| Plash | Web pages | Free, with no in-app purchases listed | Free | macOS 26.4 or later. Older versions on its website for older macOS |
| Mac+ | Drawn live | Free tier with no time limit: 6 scenes, 8 palettes, 2 widgets, 6 folder icons. 7-day trial of the monthly plan | €1.99 a month, or €9.99 once as a launch offer (normally €12.99). Prices are listed in euros only | macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel |
| Wallspace | Video | Free tier with no time limit | Free tier. Pro is $12.99 once | macOS 15 or later. Lock Screen needs macOS 26 |
| 24 Hour Wallpaper | Photos by time of day | 8 wallpapers free, plus a 14-day trial | Free with 8 wallpapers. All wallpapers for $29.99 once (a $69.99 lifetime tier is also listed), or $2.49 each | macOS 15 or later |
| Atheria | Drawn live | 2 wallpapers, your own videos and the flame creator | Free, Pro $9.99 once | macOS 15 or later |
| MotionDesk | Drawn live | 2 scenes and core settings | Free, lifetime $9.99 | macOS 13.5 or later |
| Walyro | Video and photos | Free version | Free, unlimited access $8.99 once | macOS 14 or later |
| Phosphene | Your own video | Free and open source (MIT) | Free | macOS 26 or later |
| 4K Live Wallpaper | Video | Free download with a limited library | Pro $1.99 a month, $12.99 a year or $29.99 lifetime | macOS 13 or later |
| Dynamic Wallpaper Library | Video | Free download, limited use | $4.99 once for unlimited use | macOS 11 or later |
Free trials that end
These are free to download, but only for a few days, or they mark what you make with a watermark. That’s fine for trying an app, but not for keeping one.
| Before you pay | To pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Backdrop | Trial with no time limit, up to 3 backdrops with a watermark | $1.99 a month, $14.99 a year or $29.99 once |
| Wallper | 7-day trial, then the app locks until you buy | $14.99 once for 3 Macs (Pro), $24.99 for 5 Macs (Pro+) |
| Vivid Walls | 3-day trial of the full app | $9.99 once |
| MacWall | 24-hour trial | $12.99 once (Pro) or $19.99 (Pro+) |
| Reactive Wallpaper | 3-day trial | $8.99 once |
| Wallux | 7-day trial, 3 downloads and 2 video imports | $2.99 a month or $9.99 lifetime |
| WallTune | 7-day trial of the direct version | $5.99 on the App Store, $10 direct |
| Mural | 7-day trial | $19.99 a year or $59.99 lifetime |
| gifPaper | 7-day trial | $4.99 once (launch price) |
What the free version of MacScapes includes
- 7 scenes drawn live: Mist, Aurora, Haze, Daybreak, Silk, Contours and Koi, in any of 11 palettes, at 30 frames per second.
- Your own photos as a background, with an optional slow drift.
- Clock, date and day widgets that take their colors from the wallpaper.
- 8 folder icon patterns in your palette.
- Two schedule rules and two vibes of your own, alongside the built-in vibes.
- A still of the scene set as your desktop picture, so the Lock Screen and Mission Control match.
MacScapes Pro adds all 42 scenes and 48 palettes, Living Stills, all 14 widgets, ambient sound, your own videos, a different scene on each display, full schedules, a battery vibe and 60 or 120 frames per second. It’s $1.99 a month, $12.99 a year with a 1-week free trial, or $19.99 once. Browse every scene to see which are free.
Watch out for
- “Wallpaper Engine for Mac” downloads. There isn’t one from its developers. See Wallpaper Engine for Mac for what to use instead.
- Free apps that need the newest macOS. Aerial 4.1, Phosphene and several others need macOS 26. MacScapes runs on macOS 14 or later.
- Trials that lock. Check whether an app keeps working after its trial before you build a desktop around it.
For paid apps too, see our ranking of the best live wallpaper apps for Mac. Facts about other apps come from their own pages and App Store listings.