--- title: "24 Hour Wallpaper vs MacWall: Mac Apps Compared" description: "24 Hour Wallpaper changes with the time of day; MacWall plays looping video. Prices, macOS needs and features compared, with dated sources." canonical: "https://macwall.app/alternatives/24-hour-wallpaper" updated: "2026-10-27" keywords: - "24 hour wallpaper" - "24 hour wallpaper mac" - "24 hour wallpaper alternative" - "time of day wallpaper mac" - "24 hour wallpaper vs macwall" --- # 24 Hour Wallpaper vs MacWall 24 Hour Wallpaper changes with the time of day; MacWall plays looping video. Prices, macOS needs and features compared, with dated sources. **24 Hour Wallpaper and MacWall do different jobs.** 24 Hour Wallpaper, by Jetson Creative, shows wallpapers that change with the time of day at your location, using its own ProTime engine or Apple's Dynamic Desktop format, per its [Mac App Store page](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/24-hour-wallpaper/id1226087575?mt=12). MacWall plays looping video. Pick 24 Hour Wallpaper for a scene that shifts from morning to night, and MacWall for constant motion and a live Lock Screen. | | 24 Hour Wallpaper | MacWall | | --- | --- | --- | | Developer | Jetson Creative LLC | OG APPS, LLC | | Price model | Free download with in-app purchases: lifetime access to all wallpapers at $29.99 or $69.99 (two listings), single wallpapers $2.49, and a 14-day free trial | $12.99 one-time for 3 Macs (India $4.99); 5 Macs $19.99; 24-hour free trial | | Where to get it | Mac App Store | Direct download from macwall.app | | Platforms | macOS 15.0+ | macOS 15+ (Apple silicon and Intel) | | What changes | The wallpaper follows the time of day at your location | Looping video plays all the time | | Free wallpapers | 8 free, 165 more by in-app purchase | Full catalog for 24 hours, then Pro | | Lock Screen | Not stated | Video, macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later | | Rotation | Shuffle on an interval you set | Shuffle every 15 minutes to once a day, plus a time-of-day Day Schedule | | Resolution | 5K or higher | 1,000+ curated loops in 4K | | Multiple displays | Supported | Different loop per display, or the same on all | 24 Hour Wallpaper facts from its US Mac App Store page, accessed 27 October 2026. ## How they differ A time-of-day wallpaper is mostly still. It changes slowly as the light outside changes, so you see a city at dawn in the morning and the same city lit up at night. 24 Hour Wallpaper is built around that idea: its listing describes wallpapers that follow the time of day where you are, at 5K or higher, across multiple monitors. A live wallpaper is a video loop. Water moves, clouds drift, and the scene keeps moving whenever the desktop is visible. MacWall decodes the video in hardware, pauses it behind full-screen apps, and on macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later can play it on the Lock Screen and as the Screen Saver. That costs more than a still image, so check Activity Monitor on your own Mac if battery life matters. ## Pick 24 Hour Wallpaper if - You want a calm desktop that changes with the day instead of constant motion. - You want to start free: 8 wallpapers are free, and the listing includes a 14-day free trial. - You only want one or two scenes; single wallpapers are $2.49 each. - You prefer to buy through the Mac App Store. - You want 5K or higher images for a large display. ## Pick MacWall if - You want motion: every wallpaper is a looping video. - You want a live Lock Screen and Screen Saver on macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later. - You want the whole catalog for one price: $12.99 once for up to 3 Macs ($4.99 in India), against $29.99 or $69.99 for 24 Hour Wallpaper's lifetime options. - You want to import your own MP4 and MOV clips (with Pro). - You want Music Sync gradients from Apple Music and Spotify, or Bend on an Apple silicon MacBook. ## Can MacWall follow the time of day? Partly. MacWall's Day Schedule picks a wallpaper by time of day, so you can run a bright loop in the morning and a darker one at night. It switches between whole loops; it does not shift the light within one image the way a time-of-day wallpaper does. If that gradual change is what you want, 24 Hour Wallpaper or Apple's own dynamic wallpapers are the better tools. ## The free option built into macOS Before you pay for either app, try Apple's dynamic wallpapers. Apple says they "brighten and darken, based on the time of day for your current location" ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchlp3013/mac)). Open System Settings, click Wallpaper, and pick one under Dynamic Wallpapers. The Appearance menu next to it offers Automatic, Dynamic, Light (Still) and Dark (Still) ([Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchlp1103/mac)). 24 Hour Wallpaper adds 173 more scenes on top of those (8 free, 165 paid). For more on the difference, read [dynamic vs live wallpaper on Mac](https://macwall.app/blog/dynamic-wallpaper-vs-live-wallpaper-mac). ## Sources - [24 Hour Wallpaper on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/24-hour-wallpaper/id1226087575?mt=12), accessed 27 October 2026 - [Apple Support: Change your wallpaper on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchlp3013/mac), accessed 27 October 2026 - [Apple Support: Wallpaper settings on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/mchlp1103/mac), accessed 27 October 2026 MacWall's own prices and requirements come from our [pricing](https://macwall.app/pricing) and [download](https://macwall.app/download) pages. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is 24 Hour Wallpaper free? The download is free and includes 8 wallpapers. The other 165 are in-app purchases, and the listing includes a 14-day free trial. ### How much does 24 Hour Wallpaper cost? On the US Mac App Store, lifetime access to all wallpapers is listed at $29.99 and at $69.99 (two separate in-app purchases), and single wallpapers are $2.49 each. ### Is 24 Hour Wallpaper a live wallpaper? Not in the video sense. Its wallpapers change with the time of day at your location rather than playing a looping video. MacWall and other live wallpaper apps play video. ### What macOS does 24 Hour Wallpaper need? Its Mac App Store page lists macOS 15.0 or later, the same minimum as MacWall. ### Can MacWall change the wallpaper by time of day? Yes, with Day Schedule, which picks a wallpaper by time of day. It switches between whole video loops rather than gradually changing the light in one scene. --- Source: https://macwall.app/alternatives/24-hour-wallpaper