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There are more than 25 alternatives to Wallpaper Engine for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and Steam apps. The best Wallpaper Engine alternative is Lively Wallpaper, which is both free and Open Source.
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The best Windows alternative is Lively Wallpaper, which is...
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The best open source alternative to Wallpaper Engine is...
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- Overview
- Wallpaper Engine vs Lively Wallpaper: Features
- Wallpaper Engine vs Lively Wallpaper: Using the apps
- Wallpaper Engine vs Lively Wallpaper: Performance
- Wallpaper Engine vs Lively Walllpaper: Which should you install?
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Buying Guides
Can the free Lively Wallpaper app replace Wallpaper Engine and save you money?
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Jump to:
•Features
•App design
Before you drop down the $4 for Wallpaper Engine on Steam, let's take a look at the features available with Lively Wallpaper compared to Wallpaper Engine.
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It's pretty hard to judge the difference between the usability of the apps and the overall GUI experience. I prefer the simplicity and layout of LIvely Wallpaper more. Still, Wallpaper Engine has many more options to help you find exactly what you're looking for, and the 'Discover' tab in Wallpaper Engine is a huge bonus.
Besides a few basic pre-loaded wallpapers that come with Lively Wallpaper, any other wallpapers you want to use must come from outside the app. This is a bit of a bummer compared to Wallpaper Engine and does require a bit more work, but in the long run, it means it supports a vast range of different inputs, such as websites, YouTube videos, and nearly all video files. If you're looking for ideas or help with Lively Wallpaper, they have an active subreddit with users uploading new wallpaper creations and offering assistance in true open-source fashion.
If you're looking for convenience and ease of use, Wallpaper Engine's Discover tab does all the work for you, showcasing awesome wallpapers from different categories. It's almost impossible not to find a great-looking Wallpaper for any taste. Of course, the Workshop tab also allows you to search for anything you are dying to place from and center on your PC setup.
•TL;DR app usability: While Lively Wallpaper has an overall cleaner aesthetic, in my opinion, and is very easy to drive and move around, the actual act of finding, downloading, and 'installing' wallpapers is much easier on Wallpaper Engine due to the Discover and Workshop tabs that feed community-created content directly into the app and offer 'one-click shopping' for the avid wallpaper connoisseur.
I was surprised to see how much running a live wallpaper affected my GPU. I purchased the recently reviewed NVIDIA RTX 4070 Super, and I thought I would have a ton of overhead running these live wallpapers. That doesn't seem to be the case, though. Any live wallpaper I tried had my GPU utilization showing between 15% and 30%, but it was over 20% most of the time. This was the same across both Wallpaper Engine and Lively Wallpaper.
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Lively Wallpaper also uses a lot of GPU when running a live wallpaper. It is important to say that I have no reason to doubt either of these apps' claims that they will reduce utilization to 0% during gaming. I didn't notice any slowdown or drop in frames while gaming with live wallpapers enabled from either of these applications.
Honestly, I'm torn. Before starting this, I thought that Lively Wallpaper, undoubtedly the best free alternative to Wallpaper Engine on the market, would be able to win. Still, after using both, I think the most significant deciding factor is the Workshop and Discover tabs in Wallpaper Engine. This might not be the case for everybody, but for me, $4 is not worth the extra time it would take to scour Bing trying to find the perfect video, GIF, or other media to make a wallpaper through Lively Wallpapers.
But if you're looking for a free solution and want to get involved in making and creating custom wallpapers, the Lively Wallpaper community is active and alive and always looking for more users to jump in and assist in improving it.
I understand if $4 is too much for you to spend on a wallpaper app, and Lively Wallpaper is an excellent option for anybody who wants to use it. Still, if you just want to download an app, find a gorgeous wallpaper, and enjoy Geralt of Rivia bobbing up and down on your desktop, Wallpaper Engine is easily worth the $3.99.
Wallpaper Engine
See on Steam
Wallpaper Engine is still likely the King of live wallpaper applications. It has everything you could want and is easy for beginners just wanting a sweet wallpaper and experts who want to animate an entire game and play it on their desktop.
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- DesktopHut. DesktopHut is a software program made to increase your desktop’s customizability choices by including animated wallpapers. It enables users to build up live wallpapers, ranging from a basic animated GIF to a full-fledged 3D animation.
- ScreenPlay. With the help of the software package ScreenPlay, users can add vibrant, interactive backdrops to their computer screens. In essence, it is a live wallpaper software that gives users access to a huge selection of themes and graphics.
- Lively Wallpaper. Lively Wallpaper allows users to apply various types of live wallpapers to their desktops. These wallpapers can be animated GIFs, interactive WebGL scenes, or even videos, and they all function on the desktop without the aid of an external browser or player.
- RainWallpaper. RainWallpaper is a free Windows desktop customization software that allows users to apply live wallpapers and animated backgrounds to their desktop screens.
- Walloop. Walloop is our first application to give your desktop an alluring makeover. It has more than a thousand wallpapers waiting to enhance the glamour of your device.
- Amoled 4K wallpapers. Amoled 4K Wallpapers (Visit Here) is another alternative to the wallpaper engine, which is a damn good wallpaper for Android users.
- Variety Wallpaper Changer: Linux Wallpaper Engine Alternative. Continuing to the next, Variety Wallpaper Changer ( Download Here ) manages to secure its name in the list because of its automatic background-changing aesthetics.
- ScreenPlay. ScreenPlay is one of the live desktop wallpapers a Windows user would love to have in their arsenal. It will soon be launched for Linux and Mac OS, so users should stay tuned to its official site.
Jul 19, 2023 · If you’re looking for free Wallpaper Engine alternatives, you’re in the right place. This article will point you to the best Wallpaper Engine alternatives that won’t cost you a dime.
The best open source alternative to Wallpaper Engine is Lively Wallpaper. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Wallpaper Engine and 19 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement.
People also ask
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Is Live Wallpaper better than wallpaper engine?
The best Windows alternative is Lively Wallpaper, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Wallpaper Engine and many of them are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement.
