EarthDesk vs Lively Wallpaper
EarthDesk
xericdesign.com
Lively Wallpaper
rocksdanister.comSide by side
| Figure | EarthDesk | Lively Wallpaper |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1.25/mo | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 2 |
| Spec score · Desktop Wallpaper Software | 8.9 (#4) | 8.4 (#7) |
| Performance | The maker says EarthDesk runs in the background while using minimal system resources. | Wallpaper playback pauses when fullscreen applications or games run, reaching approximately 0% CPU and GPU usage. |
| Privacy | Apple lists the developer's stated privacy practice as collecting no data from the Mac app. | The application says it does not collect, store, or share personal information; operational window and process data is kept local. |
| Purpose | EarthDesk turns the desktop into a continuously updating image of Earth from space. | Lively is an animated desktop wallpaper application. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | Not displayed because Apple says the app has not received enough ratings or reviews; count not stated. | 3.9 out of 5 from 155 ratings |
| Rating on Softpedia | 3.1 out of 5 from 8 votes | 4.5 out of 5 from 51 votes |
| What it does | EarthDesk replaces a Mac or Windows desktop with a continuously updating rendered view of Earth from space. | Lively Wallpaper sets animated wallpapers and screensavers on Windows desktops. |
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
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.
Lively Wallpaper
Lively Wallpaper is a free, open-source animated wallpaper application for Windows. It supports video and GIF wallpapers through mpv or VLC, with filters and hardware acceleration, and can load HTML files or web addresses running WebGL and JavaScript. Other wallpaper sources include GLSL shaders, Shadertoy URLs, video streams, and Unity or Godot games; GUI application support is limited. Wallpapers can span or duplicate across any number of monitors, including HiDPI and ultrawide displays, and any wallpaper can be used as a Windows screensaver. Command-line arguments and third-party scripting software such as AutoHotkey provide control options. Playback pauses when fullscreen applications or games run, reaching approximately 0% CPU and GPU usage. Lively says it does not collect, store or share personal information, while operational window and process data remains local. The listed plan is free and requires Windows 10 version 1903 or above with a 64-bit installer. Only the latest release receives security patches, and vulnerabilities can be reported by email.