Will a live wallpaper drain my MacBook battery?

Only minimally. Wallper pauses playback on battery by default and resumes when you plug in.

By default Wallper detects when you unplug your MacBook and pauses the video, replacing it with the paused frame as a static image. You can opt out of this behavior in Preferences if you want playback to continue on battery.

Even with playback on, the hardware video decoders on Apple Silicon are extremely efficient. In our internal testing a 4K HEVC wallpaper added roughly 1–3% to background power draw compared to a solid‑color background — comparable to having a Safari tab open.

FAQ

Where can I download 4K wallpapers for Mac?
You can browse and download high-quality 4K wallpapers directly from this page. All wallpapers are optimized for macOS displays, including Retina screens.
Are these wallpapers free to download?
Yes, you can download wallpapers for free and use them on your Mac.
Can I use these wallpapers as live wallpapers on Mac?
macOS doesn’t support live wallpapers by default. To use video wallpapers, you need an app like Wallper.
How do I set a video wallpaper on Mac?
You can’t set video wallpapers using macOS alone. Apps like Wallper allow you to apply video wallpapers to your desktop and lock screen.
What resolution are these wallpapers?
Most wallpapers are available in high resolution, including Full HD and 4K, so they look sharp on all Mac displays.