SnowWall for Mac
Weather for your desktop.
Snow drifts across your Mac, moves aside for your pointer and settles on your windows. All from a snowflake in the menu bar.
Free. SnowWall Pro is a one-time $14.99.
Requires macOS 26 or later
See it on a desktop.
Twenty-five seconds of SnowWall: snow settling on a window, the window moving away from under it, four effects and Ambient Mode.
It settles on your windows.
- Flakes drift away from your pointer.
- They land on the top edge of the window in front.
- Snow builds up along the bottom of the screen, and frost creeps in from the edges while you’re away.
Move your pointer through the snow.
Weather for every season.
Snowfall and Rain come free. SnowWall Pro adds eight more, from a blizzard to a shower of confetti.
Choose one to see it fall, here and at the top of the page.
Ambient Mode, when you step away.
Snow fills the screen with a clock over it. Any key or click brings your desktop back.
Included with SnowWall Pro
Tune every flake.
Size, speed, wind, sway, color and how much snow falls. Try four of them here; the app has the rest.
Over your windows or behind them.
Keep the weather over everything, or send it behind your windows, between the wallpaper and the desktop icons.
Built for the Mac.
A real simulation, drawn on the graphics processor, that knows when to step back.
Drawn with Metal
Up to 10,000 particles at Ultra quality, simulated on the GPU. Nothing loops, because nothing is a video.
Battery Saver
A lighter quality setting for long days away from a charger.
30 fps in Low Power Mode
It also drops to 30 frames a second when the Mac runs hot, and pauses while the display sleeps.
All your displays
Snow falls across every screen you connect.
Reduce Motion, your way
When Reduce Motion is on, stop the snow, slow it down or leave it running.
Shortcuts and Focus
Shortcuts actions, and a Focus filter that pauses the snow while a Focus is on.
16 languages
English, Russian, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi and eleven more.
Pause from Control Center
A Control Center control stops and starts the snow without opening the menu.
Widgets
Desktop widgets show what is falling and switch it with a click.
Spotlight actions
Pause, resume or change the effect straight from Spotlight.
Describe a mood
On Macs with Apple Intelligence, describe a mood and SnowWall builds a preset for it.
Private by design.
- No data collected.No analytics, no crash reporting, no tracking. SnowWall makes no network requests of its own.
- No permissions to grant.It draws over your desktop without reading what is on it. No screen recording, no accessibility access.
- No account.Nothing to sign up for. Your purchase is between you and the App Store.
The details are in the privacy policy. It is short, because there is little to say.
Free to start. Pro, once.
Snowfall and Rain are yours to keep and tune. SnowWall Pro opens up everything else with one purchase. No subscription.
| Feature | Free | SnowWall Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall and Rain, fully tunable | Included | Included |
| Snow that settles on windows, drifts and frost | Included | Included |
| Over your windows or behind them | Included | Included |
| Shortcuts, Focus filter and Quiet at Night | Included | Included |
| Saved presets | 3 | Unlimited |
| Quality | Battery Saver, Balanced | Adds Ultra, up to 10,000 particles |
| Eight more effectsBlizzard, Christmas, Frozen, Cherry Blossom, Rain on Glass, Autumn Leaves, Starry Night and Confetti | Not included | Included |
| Ambient Mode | Not included | Included |
| Eight visual effectsBloom, Aurora Light, Depth of Field and more | Not included | Included |
| Holiday datesChristmas, New Year, Halloween and spring blossom switch on by themselves | Not included | Included |
| Themes that change with the seasons | Not included | Included |
Christmas is free in December. The Christmas effect is open to everyone for the whole month.
Try before you buy. Preview any Pro effect live on your own desktop before you decide.
SnowWall Pro is a one-time purchase of $14.99. Restore it on every Mac signed in to your Apple Account.
Questions.
Is SnowWall free?
Yes. Snowfall and Rain are free, with every setting, and you can save three presets. SnowWall Pro is a one-time purchase that adds the other eight effects, Ambient Mode, the visual effects, Ultra quality and unlimited presets. It is not a subscription.
I opened SnowWall. Where is it?
SnowWall has no window or Dock icon of its own. It lives in the menu bar as a snowflake at the top of the screen. Click it to pause, switch effects or open Settings.
Will it slow my Mac down or drain the battery?
It draws on the graphics processor, so it uses some energy. It pauses when the display sleeps and drops to 30 frames a second in Low Power Mode or when the Mac runs hot. For less, choose Battery Saver quality or lower the snowflake count.
Does it need any permissions?
No. SnowWall draws over the desktop without reading what is on screen. If macOS ever asks you to give it screen recording or accessibility access, don’t grant it, and please let us know.
Can the snow stay behind my windows?
Yes. Turn on Keep Effects Behind Windows in Settings, under Look & Motion › Pointer & Windows. The snow then falls between your wallpaper and your desktop icons.
I use Reduce Motion.
When Reduce Motion is on, SnowWall stops the snow by default. You can choose to slow it down instead, or to leave it running.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac with macOS 26 or later.
Can I pause it without the menu?
Yes. Add SnowWall’s control to Control Center, or use the Pause action in Spotlight or Shortcuts.
Something else? See Support, or write to support@snowwall.app.