DesktopHut vs EarthDesk
DesktopHut
desktophut.comEarthDesk
xericdesign.comSide by side
| Figure | DesktopHut | EarthDesk |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $1.25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 7 |
| Spec score · Desktop Wallpaper Software | 8.9 (#3) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Founded | 2017 | 2004 |
| Licence | The terms grant a revocable personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license for personal non-commercial use and prohibit reverse engineering, resale and redistribution. | The licence agreement says the software is copyrighted and use requires accepting Xeric Design's terms. |
| Privacy | DesktopHut says it is based in Lithuania, aims to follow GDPR, uses GA4 and advertising services, does not require accounts for browsing or downloads, and does not sell personal information. | Apple lists the developer's stated privacy practice as collecting no data from the Mac app. |
| Support | DesktopHut directs users to its official Discord server or email for questions and concerns. | The maker directs users to review the product support page and offers a contact form for help. |
| What it does | DesktopHut provides a free library of video, image and interactive live wallpapers plus software for playing and creating them. | EarthDesk replaces a Mac or Windows desktop with a continuously updating rendered view of Earth from space. |
Plans
EarthDesk
- EarthDesk 7 upgrade$12.99, paid once
- EarthDesk data subscription$14.99 a year
- Single-user data subscription$14.99 a year
- EarthDesk 7 with 1-year subscription upgrade$20.99, paid once
- EarthDesk 7 single-user license$24.99, paid once
- Five-user data subscription$24.99 a year
- Small-business data subscription$39.99 a year
In their own words
DesktopHut
DesktopHut offers a library of live wallpapers and software for displaying them on desktop and mobile devices. Its site lists more than 67,000 live and animated wallpapers organized by categories and tags. The built-in Motion Photo Editor turns photos into animated wallpapers using 65 motion presets and about 30 particle assets. It can export MP4, GIF and WebP files, HTML live wallpapers, or native .dh packages. DesktopHut Studio supports different wallpapers on multiple displays, span mode and restoration of per-monitor assignments. Performance controls include hardware decoding, quality settings, FPS limits, Low Resource Mode and automatic pausing during fullscreen apps, games and screen lock. Studio supports video, animated and static image files; DesktopHut wallpapers in standard MP4 format are also compatible with Wallspace for macOS, Lively Wallpaper and Wallpaper Engine. The free Studio plan is for Windows 10/11 64-bit, has no subscription or premium tier, and is limited to personal, non-commercial use. DesktopHut describes its community as enthusiasts, gamers and artists.
EarthDesk
EarthDesk turns a computer desktop into an updating view of Earth from space, with near-real-time clouds, sun and moon depictions, and city lighting. It offers 12 map projections, including Mercator, Azimuthal, Equirectangular, and a globe with optional starfield. Maps can be centered using latitude and longitude, relative to the sun or moon, or on one of 10,000 locations; a data subscription adds other centering choices. On multiple displays, it can show a different map on each screen or span one map across them. Standard cloud imagery is global, 2-megapixel, and refreshed every six hours. The data subscription adds geo-located, parallax-corrected imagery from 23 satellites at 32-megapixel detail, refreshed every three hours, plus earthquake, tropical storm, and International Space Station information. The maker offers a free Mac or Windows trial before purchase. A single-user license starts at 24.99 USD once and covers two Mac or Windows computers. An upgrade costs 12.99 USD once and requires a previous license key; the data subscription costs $14.99 a year. Minimums are macOS 10.14, Windows 7, or tvOS 13.2.