Any photo. Behind glass.
Put any photo behind fluted glass and set it as your Mac's wallpaper on every screen. Start from five recipes, tune the glass live, made on your Mac.
Start here
What Vitrine does
Vitrine is a Mac app that turns a photo into a fluted glass wallpaper: drop in a picture and it bends it through vertical glass ribs, drawn live, then sets it or exports it at full resolution. It launched on Product Hunt in June 2026. Its listing says it needs macOS 26 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon. It's paid; its listing doesn't show the price, so check its page.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Koi is first below because it's ours, but it isn't a dedicated wallpaper app, and we say where the others do more. Every fact about another app comes from its own page, checked October 28, 2026.
Different jobs
A wallpaper app vs a tool in the notch
- Vitrine and Facet are whole apps for making glass wallpapers, and that's all they do.
- Koi's Glass wallpaper is one of the tools in your notch: five photos of Koi's own or yours, five recipes, the ribs, the bend and the angle tuned live, and Set as wallpaper.
- Koi also puts your favourites on the desktop's Shift wheel: tap Shift, hover one to see it on your desktop, click to keep it.
- Koi is mostly other things: dictation in any app, call recording, documents, a calendar and an assistant you talk to.
Two ways
How to make a fluted glass wallpaper
With Vitrine:
- Open Vitrine and drop in a photo.
- Tune the glass until you like it.
- Set it as your wallpaper, or export it.
With Koi:
- Hover the notch, open Tools and click Glass wallpaper.
- Pick one of Koi's photos, or the last tile for your own.
- Pick a recipe: Classic Flutes, Tidal, Soft Lens, Rain or Tiles, and tune the grid, refraction, size, distortion and angle.
- Click Set as wallpaper, or Add to wheel to keep it on the desktop's Shift wheel.
Step by step: how to make a fluted glass wallpaper on Mac.
The picks
The best Vitrine alternatives for Mac in 2026
1. Koi
Best for: Glass wallpapers from the notch, and switching them with a tap of Shift
Koi's Glass wallpaper draws the glass on your Mac's graphics chip, so the sliders move the preview live. It sets the wallpaper on every screen at each screen's full resolution, exports the picture, and copies a recipe as text so someone else can paste your look. Your own photo never leaves your Mac. Tap Shift on the desktop and Wallpaper gives you a wheel of glass wallpapers to try by hovering.
Where Vitrine is better, plainly: it does one thing, and you don't pay for anything else. Koi isn't sold on its own: it's Pro at $15 a month or $1 for your first 3 days, or Lifetime, paid once, with dictation, call recording and an assistant in the same app. Koi runs on macOS 14 and later.
2. Facet
Best for: More effects, and your iPhone and iPad too
Facet is a wallpaper studio for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Its listing names reeded glass, frost, prism, halftone and dither effects, drawn live, and a free pack of 12 photos to try them on. One purchase of €2.99 covers all three devices, with no subscription.
3. Basic Apple Guy's Fluted Gradients
Best for: Ready-made fluted wallpapers, nothing to tune
Not an app: sets of fluted gradient wallpapers made by a designer, for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Download one and set it the usual way. You get his looks, not your own photos.
4. Canva
Best for: A glass effect inside a design you're already making in Canva
Canva has a Fluted Glass app inside its editor. Add your photo to a design, apply the effect, then download the picture and set it as your wallpaper yourself. It runs in the browser, so your photo goes to Canva.
Comparison
Vitrine vs the alternatives
From each one's own page. “Not listed” means it doesn't say.
| Your own photo | Live preview | Sets the wallpaper | macOS | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitrine | Yes | Yes | Yes | 26+, Apple silicon | Paid, not listed |
| Koi | Yes | Yes | Every screen, and the Shift wheel | 14+ | $15 a month, or Lifetime, $99 once |
| Facet | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | €2.99 once |
| Fluted Gradients | No | No | No, you set it | Any | Paid packs |
| Canva | Yes | Yes | No, you set it | Browser | Canva's plans |
Honest take
When Vitrine is still the better pick
Stay on Vitrine if
- You only want glass wallpapers, and nothing else in the app.
- You'd rather pay for a small tool than a plan.
- You're on macOS 26 already.
Choosing
Which Vitrine alternative should you pick?
- Your iPhone and iPad too, with more effects? Facet.
- Ready-made looks, nothing to tune? Fluted Gradients.
- Already designing in Canva? Its Fluted Glass app.
- Glass wallpapers you switch with a tap of Shift, in an app that also does your dictation, calls and notes? Koi.
More on Glass wallpaper, or turn any photo into your wallpaper, glass or not: how to make a Mac wallpaper from a photo. Plans are on the pricing page.
Keep exploring
How to make a fluted glass wallpaper on Mac
Put any photo behind fluted glass and set it as your Mac wallpaper on every screen: pick a photo and a recipe in Koi's notch, tune the glass, and set it.
How to make a Mac wallpaper from a photo
Set any photo as your Mac wallpaper in two clicks, or turn it into a fluted glass wallpaper first with Koi. Sizes and tips for photos that look good.
The best screensavers for Mac in 2026
The best Mac screensavers in 2026: Apple's aerials, Aerial, Fliqlo's flip clock, Brooklyn and Koi's idle screen. What's free, what's kept up, how to set one.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Its listing says macOS 26 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon. It's paid; check its page for the price.
Facet is €2.99 once, for your Mac, iPhone and iPad. Canva's Fluted Glass app works inside Canva's editor.
Yes. Pick the last tile under Photo in Glass wallpaper, or drop a picture on the preview. It never leaves your Mac.
No. Koi runs on macOS 14 and later, on Apple silicon and Intel.