Android phones have always been very user-optimized, with the operating system allowing you to customize the interface in many ways. You can use different launchers, themes, and icons on your devices, and much more besides.
But the simplest customization options that you've got for your phone are your lock screen and home screen wallpapers. And you can take it one step further by installing a moving image to your background—a live wallpaper. Check out our top picks for the best live wallpaper apps for Android you're going to love.
1. Forest Live Wallpaper
The Forest Live Wallpaper app offers soothing live backgrounds with many beautifully animated options. It can match the weather outside and even has some fun surprises during the holiday season, such as bright stars during Christmas and fireworks during the New Year.
It also has night settings, which can make your wallpaper more visible after dark. Although the app isn't frequently updated, it's still one of the best live wallpapers you can use for Android phones.
Download: Forest Live Wallpaper (Free, in-app purchases available)
2. Muzei Live Wallpaper
Muzei Live Wallpaper displays different works of art on the lock screen every day. It can also change the wallpaper between your favorite photos every few hours.
One of the unique things about this app is that it's developer-friendly, with the source code of the app available at code.muzei.co. This means that anyone can use the source code to manipulate and develop their own unique live wallpapers.
Download: Muzei Live Wallpaper (Free)
3. Asteroid
The space-themed Asteroid lets you customize your live wallpaper, from the background color to the type of asteroid shown, to the color of the asteroid, and more.
Besides being a regular live background app, it also has a static image mode that will display a photo every 10 seconds. This is useful for those who want to minimize battery consumption while still having fun with their lock screen.
For more exciting features and to unlock different asteroid designs, you can upgrade to the premium version of this app.
Download: Asteroid (Free, premium version available)
4. Cartogram
If you travel around a lot, you can easily use a map as your wallpaper. Cartogram tracks your location and sets a wallpaper using a map of where you are.
If you want to customize the wallpaper that the app flashes, this is possible as it can easily be adjusted according to your preferences through the app's settings. You don't have to worry about this too much, as the app comes with many high-quality live wallpapers that will not disappoint.
Download: Cartogram ($3)
5. Rainpaper
Rainpaper compiles the best live wallpapers from Reddit. With this app, you get customizable weather effects like rain and fog to use as your background. You can also choose the rain color, frequency, and type of droplets depending on your preferences.
In addition, Rainpaper lets you sync your actual weather with the app through its local weather synchronization feature. You can pick any photo from your device to serve as the background image alongside the live background as well.
Download: Rainpaper ($1.99)
6. Paperland Live Wallpaper
The Paperland Live Wallpaper app hasn't been updated for a while but is still worth checking out. It features fun paper cut-out landscapes crawling through the phone's screen. You can set the sunrise and sunset and even the weather within the app, through integration with AccuWeather. It works even if you don't use that as your Android weather app.
In the free version of this app, you can choose from three wallpaper themes: silent night, grassy, and desert migration. You can upgrade if you want more.
Download: Paperland Live Wallpaper (Free, premium version available)
7. Borderlight Live Wallpaper
Borderlight Live Wallpaper is a simple but very neat idea. This live wallpaper app displays a multicolored moving border around your screen's edges. It can be adjusted to fit any size of screen without any problems.
You can also opt to add a normal background image to be paired with it, adding to the edge lighting effect. Apart from this, the app also allows users to set the notch's position and size, which will give a poised and finer look to your gadget's background.
Download: Borderlight Live Wallpaper (Free)
8. 4D Live Wallpaper
The 4D Live Wallpaper app is a collection of the best AMOLED live wallpapers. It features live backgrounds with a cool 3D depth effect, with lots of options for different people with different tastes.
A great thing about this is that even though it offers many great wallpapers, it uses a low amount of battery. And best of all, if you're a tech enthusiast, you can get a wallpaper that can be controlled by your smartphone's sensors.
Download: 4D Live Wallpaper (Free)
9. Wall.Engine
Wall.Engine gives you the option to use live wallpapers on your lock screen and home screen. It also comes with an auto wallpaper changer, which rotates the live backgrounds on a schedule.
There are lots of options to choose from so you can definitely find something that suits your tastes. Aside from live wallpapers, you can also get ringtones from this app, which is a great accompaniment for your moving background.
Download: Wall.Engine (Free, in-app purchases available)
10. ZEDGE Wallpapers & Ringtones
Zedge positions itself as an all-in-one wallpaper app, claiming that it's the only one you'll ever need. The app contains a rich collection of live wallpapers of all themes from space to spiritual, alongside static wallpapers. There's an in-app currency called "Zedge Credits" that you can use to get premium content; you can purchase this currency with real money or earn it by watching ads.
The app also has a vast library of free ringtones and alarm sounds that you can browse through. This means you don't have to download more apps to explore different ringtones; you can access everything in the Zedge app itself and decide on the spot if your ringtone matches your wallpaper's vibe.
Download: ZEDGE Wallpapers & Ringtones (Free, in-app purchases available)
11. Rad Walls
If you prefer a 1980s retro synthwave vibe, Rad Walls is the perfect live wallpaper app for you. Although the app's UI could admittedly use some work, the wallpapers themselves are of high quality and look really cool. Out of the total 31 live wallpapers in the app, 16 are free and the rest can be purchased via the Pro version of the app.
A key reason to consider Rad Walls over other live wallpaper apps is that the developer claims it doesn't drain your battery since "each live wallpaper is a simple 6-second long looping video with the effects and 3D graphics pre-rendered."
Download: Rad Walls (Free, premium version available)
Customize Your Phone With These Free Live Wallpaper Apps
Live wallpapers are a great way to customize the Android user interface with the many possibilities that the Android OS provides. This is made easier by numerous live wallpaper apps that offer different kinds of dynamic backgrounds depending on your preferences.
From color-changing borders and minimalist islands to moving asteroids and 4D live backgrounds, you can surely find an app and wallpaper to suit your taste. These apps all make it easy to change your Android wallpaper, too.