Lively Wallpaper
Free, open-source Windows app for animated video, web and interactive desktop wallpapers.
- Verified facts
- 4 of 4
- Alternatives ranked
- 3
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Lively Wallpaper
Lively Wallpaper is a free, open-source app for Windows that sets videos, GIFs, web pages and interactive HTML or shader content as animated desktop wallpapers and screensavers. It is the main free alternative to Wallpaper Engine: it ships with a set of built-in wallpapers, lets you drop in your own files or URLs, and can react to system information or audio. Like its paid rival it pauses playback when a game or fullscreen app is running, and it supports multiple monitors. It is built with WinUI 3, distributed through the Microsoft Store and GitHub, and maintained by a community project under the GPL. There is no account and no store to pay for. It has nothing like Wallpaper Engine's Workshop or scene editor, so finding good wallpapers means sourcing them yourself, and it runs only on Windows.
Best for: Windows users who want animated wallpapers for free without Steam.
Pros and cons
What works
- Free and open source
- Video, web page and interactive wallpapers
- Pauses during games and fullscreen apps
- No Steam or account required
Why people leave
- No large shared wallpaper library like Steam Workshop
- No scene editor
- Windows only
Top Lively Wallpaper alternatives
See all 3- 1
Wallpaper Engine66.5Paid, but adds a scene editor and a huge free Workshop library of wallpapers.
- 2
Hidamari62.6Similar free video and web wallpapers if you move to Linux.
- 3
Variety59.6Rotates still wallpapers from online sources on Linux, a lighter option than animated ones.
Why people left Lively Wallpaper
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Lively Wallpaper: common questions
Is Lively Wallpaper free?
Yes. Lively Wallpaper is free, open-source software.
Is Lively Wallpaper open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at lively-community/lively.
What platforms does Lively Wallpaper run on?
Lively Wallpaper is available for Windows.
What are the best alternatives to Lively Wallpaper?
The highest-ranked Lively Wallpaper alternatives right now are Wallpaper Engine, Hidamari and Variety. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.