Vivid Walls vs Wallpaper Engine
Vivid Walls
vividwalls.appWallpaper Engine
wallpaperengine.ioSide by side
| Figure | Vivid Walls | Wallpaper Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Desktop Wallpaper Software | 8.6 (#6) | 7.0 (#29) |
| Privacy | The app states that it collects no personal information, analytics, telemetry or crash reports, and that transfers stay on the local network. | The maker's privacy policy says its website uses no tracking software, cookies, or visit logs, and says website and software services do not collect user data. |
| Support | Users can email [email protected] with scene compatibility reports, questions, bug reports, or feature requests. | The maker provides a troubleshooting and FAQ knowledge base with technical articles and a contact option. |
| What it does | Vivid Walls is a native macOS app that renders Wallpaper Engine scene files and also supports video, web, GIF and image wallpapers. | Wallpaper Engine lets users use live wallpapers on Windows and create wallpapers from images, videos, and websites. |
Plans
In their own words
Vivid Walls
Vivid Walls is a native macOS app for Wallpaper Engine scene files and video, web, GIF, and image wallpapers. It renders scenes on Apple Silicon with a Metal scene engine. Wallpapers can react to cursor movement, clicks, system audio, or focus modes. Users can span a scene across displays or set independent scenes, then schedule them by time of day or focus mode. The app pauses when the desktop is fully covered or another app is fullscreen, reduces its frame rate on battery, and respects Low Power Mode. Eight animated 1080p wallpapers are loaded into the library at first launch. A free Windows Companion transfers a Wallpaper Engine library to the Mac over local Wi-Fi using a four-character code. The free plan keeps the bundled wallpapers; the Full Library costs $9.99, paid once. The app requires macOS 14.0 or later and Apple Silicon M1 or later, and does not support Intel Macs. The maker says some scenes may render incorrectly because of their varied effects and content.
Wallpaper Engine
Wallpaper Engine has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.