Vivid Walls vs Waypaper
Vivid Walls
vividwalls.appWaypaper
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Vivid Walls | Waypaper |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Desktop Wallpaper Software | 8.6 (#6) | 8.0 (#10) |
| License | The terms grant a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license for use on Apple devices and prohibit reverse engineering, so the app is proprietary rather than open source. | The source repository contains the GNU General Public License version 3 dated 29 June 2007. |
| Support | Users can email [email protected] with scene compatibility reports, questions, bug reports, or feature requests. | The maintainer invites contributions and lists donations via cards/PayPal and several cryptocurrencies; no formal support service is stated. |
| Video wallpapers | MP4, MOV and other AVFoundation-compatible videos can be used as looping desktop wallpapers. | Video wallpapers are supported through mpvpaper, gslapper or linux-wallpaperengine. |
| 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. | Waypaper is a graphical wallpaper setter that fronts external wallpaper backends. |
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.
Waypaper
Waypaper is a free graphical wallpaper setter for Linux window managers and macOS. It provides a single interface for backends such as swaybg, swww, awww, wallutils, hyprpaper, mpvpaper, gslapper, feh, xwallpaper, linux-wallpaperengine, and macOS. It supports multiple monitors and can restore a wallpaper when a window manager launches. The interface also offers Vim-style keyboard navigation, caching, a distraction-free Zen mode, post-change script hooks, and customizable CSS theming. Animated wallpaper support depends on the backend: selected backends handle GIFs, while mpvpaper, gslapper, or linux-wallpaperengine can provide video wallpapers. Waypaper needs at least one supported wallpaper backend installed to work. On Linux, installation options include pipx and packages or repositories for Arch-based distributions, NixOS, OpenSUSE, and Fedora. macOS setup requires GTK3 and PyGObject through Homebrew before Waypaper is installed with pipx. The repository identifies the project as GPL-3.0 licensed. Its documentation names Roman Anufriev as developer and says development began in 2023.