The Bottom Line
- Price
- Paid plans only, free trial. Compare plans
Key facts
- Generates infinite, GPU-rendered live wallpapers from shapes, palettes, dithers, and seeds
- One-time purchase with a free trial, no account or subscription required
- Privacy-focused: sandboxed, no analytics, and everything stays on your Mac
Pros
- One-time payment with updates included, no subscription
- Privacy-focused with no account, analytics, or data leaving your Mac
- Battery-efficient GPU rendering that adapts to system state
Cons
- Requires a recent version of macOS
- Mac App Store version not yet available
What is Pixel Soup?
Key Features
- 11 generative shape types including Flow, Mesh, Plasma, Ripple, Aurora, Cells, Topo, Whorl, Sonar, Mosh, and Weave
- 9 dithering styles: Smooth, Poster, Bayer 4 and 8, Noise, Halftone, Lines, Diamond, ASCII, and Benday dots
- 12 built-in color palettes plus custom palettes with up to 5 colors
- Photo import to dither your own images into wallpapers
- Auto-rotation to a new wallpaper hourly or daily with a Previous button to go back
- PNG export at multiple resolutions: current display, 6K, iPhone, or 2048 square
- GPU-accelerated rendering that pauses when windows cover the desktop
- Multi-display support with automatic resolution handling
Pricing Plans
Free TrialPricing checked Oct 7, 2026
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Launch Week Price | $4.99 once | |
| Regular Price | $9.99 once |
Included in all plans
- Full app
- Updates included
- License for up to 3 Macs
- Export PNG for any use, including commercial
Is Pixel Soup worth the price?
At $4.99 launch and $9.99 regular, this is a fair, impulse-buy price for a niche Mac utility, especially with updates and commercial export included.
It's cheaper than most subscription-based wallpaper apps and aligns with one-time purchase norms for indie Mac tools. Best for Mac users who want a unique, GPU-accelerated aesthetic without recurring fees.
How Pixel Soup's pricing compares
At $4.99/mo, billing unit not specified, Pixel Soup is mid-range of its 3 comparable direct competitors ($1.49 to $9/mo across the set).
Entry paid plan, monthly. Pricing checked Oct 7, 2026.
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Pixel Soup FAQ
How does Pixel Soup manage battery life with animated wallpapers?
Can I use Pixel Soup wallpapers on multiple monitors?
What happens after the 3-day free trial ends?
Can I use exported wallpapers for commercial projects?
What is the difference between the direct download and the Mac App Store version?
Can I create a custom color palette from my own photo?
Does Pixel Soup work on Intel Macs?
What is the refund policy for Pixel Soup?
Source: pixelsoup.app