--- title: "Plash for Mac vs MacWall: Web or Video Wallpaper" description: "Plash makes a website your Mac wallpaper for free; MacWall plays looping video. Requirements, price and features compared with dated sources." canonical: "https://macwall.app/alternatives/plash" updated: "2026-10-27" keywords: - "plash mac" - "plash app" - "plash alternative" - "website as wallpaper mac" - "plash vs macwall" --- # Plash vs MacWall Plash makes a website your Mac wallpaper for free; MacWall plays looping video. Requirements, price and features compared with dated sources. **Plash and MacWall put different things on your desktop.** Plash, a free app by Sindre Sorhus, makes any website your wallpaper, per [its site](https://sindresorhus.com/plash). MacWall plays looping video from a curated catalog or your own files. If you want a dashboard, a live web page or a page you built yourself behind your windows, Plash is the better fit and costs nothing. | | Plash | MacWall | | --- | --- | --- | | Developer | Sindre Sorhus | OG APPS, LLC | | Price model | Free; no in-app purchases listed | $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 or the developer's site | Direct download from macwall.app | | Platforms | App Store version: macOS 26.4+. Version from its site: macOS 26; older releases run on macOS 10.15+ | macOS 15+ (Apple silicon and Intel) | | What it shows | Any website | Looping video | | Lock Screen | No, per its site | Video, macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later | | Customizing | Custom CSS and JavaScript, auto-reload on an interval, Browsing Mode | Import your own MP4 and MOV clips with Pro | | Automation | Shortcuts and a URL scheme | Menu bar controls | | Battery | Can pause on battery | Pauses behind full-screen apps; optional pause in Low Power Mode | Plash facts from sindresorhus.com/plash and its US Mac App Store page, accessed 27 October 2026. ## What Plash is good at Plash turns a web page into the desktop background. That suits things a video cannot do: a live status dashboard, a calendar, a weather page, or a page you wrote yourself and style with custom CSS and JavaScript. It can reload the page on an interval, has a Browsing Mode, and can be scripted with Shortcuts or a URL scheme. It is free, and its Mac App Store listing shows no in-app purchases. Its site also lists the limits: it shows one website at a time, and it does not cover the Lock Screen. ## What MacWall is good at MacWall is built for video. It has 1,000+ curated 4K live wallpapers across categories such as anime, nature, cars and space, plays a different loop on each display or the same loop on all of them, and decodes video in hardware. On macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later the same loop can play on the Lock Screen and as the Screen Saver. MacWall cannot show a website; it only plays video files. ## Pick Plash if - You want a website, dashboard or your own HTML page as the wallpaper. - You want something free. - You like to script your setup with Shortcuts or a URL scheme. - You are on macOS 26.4 or later, or you are happy to use an older release from the developer's site. ## Pick MacWall if - You want moving video, not a web page. - You want motion on the Lock Screen and Screen Saver on macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later. - You are on macOS 15 Sequoia and the current Plash release needs a newer version. - You are fine paying once: $12.99 for up to 3 Macs, after a free 24-hour trial. ## Check your macOS version first The current Plash on the Mac App Store needs macOS 26.4 or later, and the version on the developer's site needs macOS 26; the site says older releases run on macOS 10.15 and later. MacWall needs macOS 15 for desktop wallpapers and macOS 26 for the Lock Screen. Choose Apple menu > About This Mac to see your version. Want other video wallpaper apps? See [live wallpaper apps for Mac, compared](https://macwall.app/best-live-wallpaper-mac) or the [full comparison index](https://macwall.app/compare). ## Sources - [Plash by Sindre Sorhus](https://sindresorhus.com/plash), accessed 27 October 2026 - [Plash on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/plash/id1494023538), 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 Plash free? Yes. Plash is free on the Mac App Store, and its listing shows no in-app purchases. ### What macOS does Plash need? The Mac App Store version needs macOS 26.4 or later. The version on the developer's site needs macOS 26, and older releases run on macOS 10.15 and later. ### Does Plash work on the Lock Screen? No. Its site says it does not support the Lock Screen. MacWall plays video on the Lock Screen on macOS 26 or later. ### Can MacWall show a website as the wallpaper? No. MacWall only plays video: its catalog and your own MP4, MOV and M4V files. Use Plash for websites. ### Who makes Plash? Plash is made by Sindre Sorhus. MacWall is made by OG APPS, LLC and is not affiliated with Plash. --- Source: https://macwall.app/alternatives/plash