Are you looking for a fun and easy way to spice up your Windows desktop? You should try using a GIF wallpaper. It’s a nice balance between the more intensive nature of video wallpapers and the static high-quality of a standard image.
While it might be easy to set a GIF wallpaper on smartphones, Windows doesn’t natively support this, so you must rely on third-party software. Here’s how to use a GIF as your wallpaper on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
How to Set a GIF Wallpaper on Windows 10 and 11 Using Plastuer
Plastuer can help you set up GIFs, videos, and HTML5 webpages as your wallpaper. It uses WebGL and the open-source Chromium browser to render animation on the desktop.
It costs $5, which is a reasonable amount for software that works effortlessly, and you’ll receive the download link by email. You only have an hour before the download link expires, so don’t wait around. However, once you’ve downloaded the ZIP, you can run Plastuer indefinitely.
The software supports multiple monitors. On launch, it detects your monitors and you can choose which you want your animated GIF wallpaper on.
Once you select a monitor, you can pick an animated GIF in many ways.
- Use the URL field to point it to a source for a GIF (we’ve listed some good GIF providers later in this article).
- You can also add several URLs with the Create Playlist field.
- Click on the Select File option to choose a GIF file from your PC.
- Alternatively, choose Browse Gallery to select a GIF from the Plasteur gallery.
You can disable the active wallpaper anytime by clicking Disable Wallpaper.
You might also want to go into the settings (click the sliding buttons icon in the top-right) and set the behavior of the wallpaper when a full screen or a maximized application like a movie or a game is running. By default, Plastuer automatically detects full screen and maximized applications and pauses animations to conserve your RAM.
It’s here that you’ll find other options, like whether Plastuer opens on start-up and whether it should automatically check for updates.
Download: Plastuer ($5)
How to Set a GIF Wallpaper on Windows 10 and 11 Using BioniX Wallpaper Changer
BioniX Wallpaper Changer is software that offers all sorts of customization options. You can create themes, quickly send wallpapers to friends, bulk download wallpapers, and more. For our purposes, we’ll focus on the feature that lets you set a GIF as your wallpaper.
Download and install the software, which is completely free. It’ll launch automatically. When it does, press Ctrl + F to search for a local GIF file on your computer. Alternatively, press Insert to input a GIF URL.
Once your image is loaded into the playlist section, double click it to set it as your Windows desktop wallpaper. The change will take place immediately—you now have a GIF wallpaper!
You don’t have to stick with a single GIF. You can load multiple into the playlist. Then, switch to the Countdown tab to choose how often the wallpaper changes. You can also use the Shuffle toggle if you want the wallpapers to display in a random order.
Download: BioniX Wallpaper Changer (Free)
How to Set a GIF Wallpaper on Windows 10 and 11 Using Rainmeter
Rainmeter is one of the most popular desktop customization software. While it can be used to set up an animated GIF wallpaper on Windows, the process is complicated for a new user. If you want the challenge, check our guide on how to use an animated GIF wallpaper with Rainmeter.
However, unless you want a really advanced solution, stick with the other methods outlined above.
Make Your Own GIF Wallpapers
One of the easiest ways to make your own animated GIF wallpaper is to start with a video. GIF tools like Giphy’s GIF maker can convert your videos to animated GIFs. With Giphy’s creator, you can upload a MP4 or MOV file, or add a video URL from services like YouTube and Vimeo, and turn it into a GIF. Then, download the GIF and use one of the programs above to make it your Windows wallpaper.
Alternatively, you can download pre-made GIFs from sites like:
Ensure Your System Is Powerful Enough for a GIF Wallpaper
Be wary that animated wallpapers can surprisingly eat away at a lot of your computer’s resources to render the graphics. The richer the animation, the more resource-hungry it will be. If you notice your system slowing down, the animated wallpaper might be the culprit; if so, remove it and see if your system returns to normal.
However, if you have a capable graphics card and adequate system memory (at least 4GB), then GIF and video wallpapers are a nice enhancement for your Window 10 or Windows 11 desktop.
You can then go full throttle with live wallpapers and animated background software for Windows too.
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