Best Live Wallpaper Apps for iPhone in 2026: 11 Compared

The best live wallpaper app for iPhone depends on what you start with: a still photo (Lockimate), a video or GIF (intoLive), nothing at all (Zedge's ready-made library), or a wish for widgets and charging animations rather than a Live Photo (ThemePack and iScreen, the two biggest apps in the category). This guide compares 11 of them by the one thing most roundups skip: what file each app actually hands back, and whether iOS can animate it on raise-to-wake.

Last updated September 2026. Covers iOS 17 through iOS 26.

Disclosure: we make Lockimate, and it is the most expensive app in this comparison. We've tried to describe every app, including ours, by its behaviour rather than its marketing copy.

How These Apps Were Sorted

Only one animated format works natively as an iPhone Lock Screen wallpaper: an Apple Live Photo, which is an HEIC still and a short MOV clip joined by shared metadata. iOS animates it when you raise the phone. An MP4, a GIF, or a widget effect is something else. It may move, but not as a Live Photo wallpaper.

We didn't install and device-test every app for this list. The output column below comes from each app's own App Store listing, developer documentation and user reviews, lined up against the format requirements we've verified by reading real Live Photo files. The full method and evidence, covering around sixty apps, is in our research article Live Wallpaper Apps That Actually Work on iPhone. If you want to check an export yourself, the free Live Photo checker tells you which requirement a file is missing.

Comparison Table

App	What you feed it	Output	Price model (approximate)	Best for
Lockimate	One still photo	Native Live Photo	First wallpaper free, then a membership. Not the cheapest here	Animating your own photo with no editing
ThemePack	Themes, widgets, wallpapers from its catalog	Widgets, dynamic covers, charging animations (not a Live Photo)	Free, with in-app subscriptions	Full home and lock screen theming
iScreen	Widgets and themes from its catalog	Widgets, Dynamic Island and charging animations (not a Live Photo)	Free, with in-app purchases	Widgets and Dynamic Island effects
Zedge	Its library, or a video to convert	Native Live Photo (pre-formatted library)	Free with ads, optional premium	Ready-made live wallpapers
intoLive	Your own video or GIF	Native Live Photo	Free tier, one-time unlock (approx. $2.99)	Turning a clip you already have into a wallpaper
GIPHY	GIFs from GIPHY's library	Native Live Photo (via export button)	Free	Quick GIF-based lock screens
Motionleap	A still photo plus manual brushwork	Video / GIF	Free with watermark, subscription (approx. $9.99/mo)	Precise manual control, social video
Loopy	One still photo	Claimed wallpaper-ready; not confirmed	Free tier, subscription (approx. $4.99/mo)	Trying another AI photo animator
MyScreen	Its wallpaper library	Not confirmed in our research	Free, optional premium	Browsing ready-made animated designs
Vellum	Its curated library	Mostly still images	Free, one-time premium	High-quality static wallpapers
Canva	Templates, text, shapes	GIF / MP4 video	Free, optional Pro	Animated graphic or typographic designs
iOS built-in (not an app)	Live Photos you've already shot	Native Live Photo	Free	Using Live Photos already in your library

Prices vary by country and change often, so treat every figure above as approximate and check the current App Store listing.

If your starting point is a still photo, the table narrows fast: Lockimate turns it into a native Live Photo in about 2 to 3 minutes, with no video clip and no brushwork.

Animate my photo

1. Lockimate: Best for Animating a Still Photo

What it does: you pick a photo from your library, choose a type of movement (or describe one in your own words), and Lockimate's AI generates the motion. The result saves to Photos as a native Live Photo that you set from Settings, Wallpaper. Generation takes about 2 to 3 minutes. Optional art styles restyle the photo as it animates.

Strengths: no timeline, masking or brushwork. You start from a single still, not a video. The output is a genuine Live Photo, so there's no converter step.

Trade-offs: it's the most expensive app in this comparison, so don't pick it to save money. It's slower than a converter, which takes seconds. Because the AI decides how things move, you get less fine control than with Motionleap. It needs an internet connection and iOS 17 or later.

Price: your first wallpaper is free, and more need a membership.

Best for: portraits, pets, travel shots and landscapes you want moving on your Lock Screen without learning an editor. For head-to-heads, see Lockimate vs Motionleap, Lockimate vs intoLive and Lockimate vs Loopy.

2. ThemePack: Best for Complete Home and Lock Screen Themes

What it does: ThemePack is a theming app with widgets, icon packs and wallpapers. With roughly 466,000 ratings on the US App Store, it's the largest app in this whole category. Its listing advertises "Still And Live Wallpapers" and "Dynamic Cover/Charging Wallpaper", where the motion is tied to app or charging state.

What it doesn't do: its own description doesn't claim to export the paired HEIC and MOV file that iOS animates on raise-to-wake, and we found no evidence that it does. The animation depends on the app's widgets and settings staying in place. It isn't a portable Live Photo you can keep or AirDrop.

Price: free to download, with subscriptions and gem packs as in-app purchases.

Best for: people who want a fully themed phone, with matching widgets, icons and charging screen, more than a moving photo.

3. iScreen: Best for Widgets and Dynamic Island Effects

What it does: iScreen, with over 140,000 ratings, is the other giant of the category. Its listing describes "Dynamic Island" and "Charging Animations" features delivered through iOS widgets, alongside a large widget and wallpaper catalog.

What it doesn't do: like ThemePack, it animates through widgets rather than by producing a Live Photo, so nothing plays on the standard raise-to-wake Lock Screen gesture. If a "live wallpaper" from iScreen isn't moving the way you expected, that's why. It's a different mechanism, not a broken one.

Price: free to download, with in-app purchases.

Best for: widget-heavy home screens and Dynamic Island effects.

4. Zedge: Best for Ready-Made Live Wallpapers

What it does: Zedge is one of the oldest wallpaper and ringtone brands, with a huge mixed library. Zedge's own developer blog says its live wallpapers are pre-formatted as Live Photos, so iOS treats them as Live Photo wallpapers. Our research counts it among the few apps with real, at-scale evidence of a working Live Photo pipeline.

Trade-offs: you're picking from the library, not animating your own photo. Quality varies a lot across a catalog this size, and the free experience is ad-supported.

Price: free with ads, with an optional premium tier.

Best for: anyone who wants a live wallpaper right now and doesn't need it to be their own photo.

5. intoLive: Best for Converting a Video You Already Have

What it does: intoLive is the long-running standard for converting a video clip or GIF into a native Live Photo. You pick the part of the clip you want and save it as a Live Photo.

Trade-offs: it doesn't generate motion. If you only have a still photo, it can't help. The motion also has to be good Live Photo material: a shaky hand-held clip can fail to animate even when the file format is right, as the research article explains.

Price: free tier, and a one-time unlock of approximately $2.99 (unverified, check the listing).

Best for: turning a clip of your dog, a wave or a city at night into a Lock Screen wallpaper. See Lockimate vs intoLive for when to pick each.

6. GIPHY: Best Free GIF-to-Live-Photo Option

What it does: GIPHY's app has a built-in Live Photo export on GIF pages, turning a GIF from its library into a Live Photo you can set as a wallpaper.

Trade-offs: it only works with GIFs from GIPHY's own library, not your photos. GIFs are low-resolution by nature, and a loop designed for chat doesn't always look right as a wallpaper.

Price: free.

Best for: a quick, free, playful Lock Screen.

7. Motionleap: Best for Manual Control

What it does: Motionleap, from Lightricks, lets you paint motion paths onto a photo, mask areas that should stay still, and add effects like sky replacement. With around 24,000 ratings on the US App Store, it's the best-known photo animator.

Trade-offs: it exports video or GIF. Its "Export as Live Wallpaper" option describes a looping export, not a confirmed native Live Photo, so for the Lock Screen you'll typically need a converter like intoLive afterwards. Good results take real editing time.

Price: free with a watermark, and a Pro subscription of approximately $9.99/month (unverified, varies by region).

Best for: creators who want pixel-level control, especially for social video. If you want the result without the editing, see our best Motionleap alternative breakdown or Lockimate vs Motionleap.

8. Loopy: An AI Photo Animator With Mixed Reports

What it does: Loopy Live Wallpaper markets the same promise as Lockimate: one photo in, AI motion out. Its listing says the output is "auto-optimized for iOS wallpaper settings."

Trade-offs: it's a small app, with roughly 150 ratings when we checked, and at least one user review reports that the Live Photo motion toggle wouldn't turn on. We couldn't confirm either way whether its exports animate as native Live Photos. If you try it, run an export through the Live Photo checker.

Price: free tier, and a subscription of approximately $4.99/month (unverified).

Best for: anyone comparing AI animators side by side. See Lockimate vs Loopy.

9. MyScreen: Best for Browsing Animated Designs

What it does: MyScreen is a large library of ready-made animated and static wallpapers, organised by category, and it has added AI and Spatial Scene features.

Trade-offs: you can't animate your own photo, and we couldn't confirm in this research pass whether its animated wallpapers save as native Live Photos or as video. Check an export before you rely on it.

Price: free, with an optional premium tier.

Best for: browsing designs when you don't have a photo in mind. For more design-led picks, see the best moving wallpapers for iPhone.

10. Vellum: Best for High-Quality Stills

What it does: Vellum is a carefully curated wallpaper library known for image quality and a clean interface.

Trade-offs: it's mostly static. There's little animated content, and at least one user review asks for a dedicated Live Photo section. It's on this list because searchers compare it with live wallpaper apps, not because it's one.

Price: free to browse, with a one-time premium unlock.

Best for: a beautiful still wallpaper. The best free wallpaper apps for iPhone guide covers more still-image libraries.

11. Canva: Best for Animated Graphic Designs

What it does: Canva is a design tool, not a photo animator. You can animate text, shapes and illustrations in a phone-sized canvas.

Trade-offs: it exports GIF or MP4, not a Live Photo, so you need a converter such as intoLive before it can animate on the Lock Screen.

Price: free, with an optional Pro subscription.

Best for: minimalist, typographic or Y2K-style animated designs.

Free Option: The iOS Built-in Live Photo Wallpaper

You may not need an app. Every Live Photo you've taken with the iPhone camera, with the Live toggle on, can be set as a wallpaper for free: Settings, Wallpaper, Add New Wallpaper, Live Photo, then pick the photo and make sure the Live Photo option is on. It needs iOS 17 or later.

The catch is that it only works with Live Photos you already have. It can't animate a still or convert a video. Apple doesn't publish how much of the clip plays as a wallpaper, so a moment that looks great in Photos can feel brief on the Lock Screen.

Which One Should You Use?

You have a still photo and want it to move on your Lock Screen: Lockimate. It produces a native Live Photo from one photo in about 2 to 3 minutes with no editing. It costs more than the others, and your first wallpaper is free so you can judge the result first.
You already have a video or GIF: intoLive. It's the cheapest way to get a genuine Live Photo from footage you own.
You don't have anything and just want a live wallpaper now: Zedge for variety, or GIPHY for something free and playful.
You want widgets, Dynamic Island effects or charging animations: ThemePack or iScreen. Just know that these aren't Live Photo wallpapers.
You want to control exactly what moves, for social video: Motionleap, plus a converter if you also want it on the Lock Screen.
You want a great still image: Vellum.
You want an animated graphic or type design: Canva, plus a converter.
You already have Live Photos in your library: use the free iOS built-in option first.

Whatever you pick, if the wallpaper sits still after you set it, the file probably isn't a genuine Live Photo. Our research on which live wallpaper apps actually work explains what iOS checks, and the Live Photo checker tells you which one your file is missing.

Skip the converter step: pick a photo, choose a movement, and get a native Live Photo back in about 2 to 3 minutes. Your first wallpaper is free.

Make my live wallpaper

FAQ

What is the best live wallpaper app for iPhone?

It depends on what you start with. If you have a still photo and want it to animate on the Lock Screen, Lockimate is built for exactly that and outputs a native Live Photo. If you already have a video or GIF, intoLive converts it into a Live Photo. If you want ready-made live wallpapers, Zedge's library is pre-formatted as Live Photos. If you want widgets, Dynamic Island effects, or charging animations rather than a Live Photo, ThemePack and iScreen are the largest apps in the category.

Do ThemePack and iScreen make real Live Photo wallpapers?

Based on their own App Store descriptions, no. Both are widget and theme apps. ThemePack describes dynamic cover and charging wallpapers, and iScreen describes Dynamic Island and charging animations delivered through iOS widgets. Neither describes exporting the paired HEIC and MOV file that iOS animates on raise-to-wake. They are useful apps, but they solve a different problem.

Which apps make real Live Photos for the iPhone Lock Screen?

Among the apps compared here, Lockimate, intoLive, Zedge and GIPHY produce native Live Photos. intoLive converts your own video or GIF, Zedge offers a pre-formatted library, GIPHY exports GIFs from its own library, and Lockimate generates one from a still photo. Motionleap and Canva export video or GIF, which needs a converter first.

Is there a free way to get a live wallpaper on iPhone?

Yes. If you already have Live Photos taken with your iPhone camera, iOS can set them as a wallpaper at no cost: Settings, Wallpaper, Add New Wallpaper, Live Photo. GIPHY is free, and Zedge and intoLive have free tiers. Lockimate's first wallpaper is free, but it is not the cheapest app in this comparison after that.

Can I turn a still photo into a live wallpaper?

Yes, but most apps that say they do it hand you a video. Lockimate generates a native Live Photo from a single still in about 2 to 3 minutes with no manual editing. Motionleap lets you paint motion onto a photo by hand but exports video or GIF, so you would still need a converter such as intoLive for the Lock Screen.

Which iPhones support live wallpapers?

Live Photo wallpapers need iOS 17 or later. iOS 16 removed the feature and iOS 17 brought it back, and it is still there in iOS 26. iPhone X and older cannot run iOS 17, so they cannot use Live Photo wallpapers.

Why does my live wallpaper not move?

Usually because the file is not a genuine Live Photo, even if the app called it one. iOS checks several hidden metadata fields before it will animate a wallpaper and fails silently when one is missing, sometimes showing Motion not available. A video, a GIF, or a Live Photo with missing pairing data will sit still. Lockimate's free Live Photo checker reads the file and names the missing requirement.