What is Wavedance used for?

Wavedance is a Mac menu-bar app that replaces the desktop background with an animated dot-grid wallpaper that sits behind your icons, ignores clicks and follows you across Spaces. It is a good fit for giving a Mac desktop an animated backdrop.

How much does Wavedance cost?

Wavedance is a paid product with no free plan.

Is Wavedance open source?

No. Wavedance is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Design category, open-source options include Synfig Studio, Penpot and Graphite.

What are some alternatives to Wavedance?

Other SaaS products in the Design category include MotionDesk, Glyphs and LottieFiles.

Wavedance: features, pricing and alternatives

About Wavedance

Wavedance is a macOS menu-bar app that turns the desktop into an animated dot-grid live wallpaper. It is a real wallpaper layer rather than a screensaver, so it sits behind desktop icons, lets clicks pass through and appears on every Space and display, including fullscreen apps. It requires macOS 12 or later, has no dock icon, and can launch at login.

Five animation styles can be switched from the menu bar: Wave (Perlin-noise ripples), Random (dots fading in and out), Plasma (drifting noise clusters), Arc (a pulsing band across the horizon) and Ribbon (sine ribbons with soft blooms). Foreground and background colors, dot size, gap, speed, amplitude and other values are adjustable, with preset palettes such as Mono, Glacier, Ember and Frost, and animation can be paused with one click.

The grid is drawn on a canvas rather than played as video, and the app is a native one using the system WebView instead of a bundled browser. It pauses when the wallpaper is hidden or when the system Reduced Motion setting is on. Wavedance is sold as a one-time purchase.

Key features

Animated dot-grid wallpaper behind desktop icons
Five animation styles including Plasma and Ribbon
Click-through on every Space and display
Custom colors, dot size and spacing
Preset palettes such as Glacier and Ember
One-click pause from the menu bar
Respects the Reduced Motion setting

Good fit for

Giving a Mac desktop an animated backdrop

Tags: macos; live-wallpaper; menu-bar; desktop-customization; animation; dot-grid; design

Wavedance: questions and answers

What is Wavedance used for?: Wavedance is a Mac menu-bar app that replaces the desktop background with an animated dot-grid wallpaper that sits behind your icons, ignores clicks and follows you across Spaces. It is a good fit for giving a Mac desktop an animated backdrop.
How much does Wavedance cost?: Wavedance is a paid product with no free plan.
Is Wavedance open source?: No. Wavedance is proprietary (closed-source) software. In the Design category, open-source options include Synfig Studio, Penpot and Graphite.
What are some alternatives to Wavedance?: Other SaaS products in the Design category include MotionDesk, Glyphs and LottieFiles.