How to get a clock screensaver on your Mac
macOS has no clock screen saver. Show Tahoe's clock over your screen saver, install free Fliqlo, or fade every screen to a big clock with Koi's idle screen.
Start here
The best screensavers for Mac, in short
Start with what's already on your Mac. Since macOS Sonoma, Apple's own aerials are slow-motion films of landscapes, cities, the sea and Earth from space, and macOS Tahoe added more. If you want more of them, Aerial is free and open source. For a clock, Fliqlo is the free classic. Brooklyn is the fun one, if you can live with an app nobody updates.
Koi's idle screen is first below because it's ours, and it isn't a macOS screen saver at all: it's Koi's own black screen over every display, with a big calm clock or a crowd of little Kois. We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Every fact about another screen saver comes from its own site, GitHub page or Apple's support pages, checked October 25, 2026. We didn't test them on every version of macOS.
What matters
What to look for in a Mac screen saver
- Works on your macOS. Third-party screen savers broke on macOS Tahoe for many people, so check the version it supports.
- Still maintained. Several favourites haven't been updated in years.
- Calm or busy: a slow film, a clock, or something that moves.
- A clock, if you glance at your Mac from across the room.
- Doesn't start in the middle of a video or a call.
- Free. The best ones mostly are.
The picks
The best screensavers for Mac in 2026
1. Koi's idle screen
Best for: A calm clock that never starts during a call or a video
Koi is a Mac assistant that lives in your MacBook's notch: dictation, call recording, documents, a calendar and an AI you talk to. Koi 2.0 added an idle screen. Turn on Show an idle screen in Settings, Notch & tools, Idle screen, and after a few minutes with nobody at your Mac every screen fades to black with one of two looks: Time, a big calm clock, or Kois, a crowd of little Kois floating and bumping about. A move or a key brings everything back.
You pick when it starts: after 1, 2, 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes, 5 to begin with. Try it shows it straight away. It never comes on during a call, a recording or a video, so it won't black out a film or a meeting.
Where it loses: it's not a screen saver in System Settings, it doesn't lock your Mac, and it has two looks, not a library. It also comes with Koi, at $20 a month or $7 for a first week, or Lifetime, paid once, with no free plan. For a screen saver alone, the free picks below win.
2. Apple's built-in aerials
Best for: Beautiful, free and already on your Mac
macOS groups its screen savers into slow-motion macOS images; Landscape, Cityscape, Underwater and Earth aerials; Shuffle Aerials, which rotates through them; and Other, with your Photos and the classic screen savers. On our Mac on macOS 27, those classics include Hello, Word of the Day, Album Artwork, Drift, Flurry and Shell. macOS Tahoe added 15 new aerials, among them Lake Tahoe at four times of day (9to5Mac).
On macOS Tahoe and later, they're in System Settings, Wallpaper, Screen Saver. There's no clock screen saver among them; see how to get a clock screensaver.
3. Aerial
Best for: Aerials taken further, free and kept up to date
Aerial is free and open source (MIT), with no tracking and optional donations. Its site says Sonoma brought aerials to the Mac and Aerial goes further. It's clearly alive: version 4.1.9 came out on October 23, 2026. That version needs macOS 26 Tahoe or later, on Apple silicon or Intel; Macs on Sequoia get 4.0.16. Development moved to AerialScreensaver/Aerial on GitHub.
4. Fliqlo
Best for: The classic flip clock, free
Fliqlo is the flip clock most people mean when they search for a clock screensaver. It's free, version 1.9.5, and needs macOS 14 or later. Its site doesn't say whether it supports Tahoe, and “Fliqlo not working” is a common search, so try it before you rely on it. There's also an iPhone version for $0.99.
5. Brooklyn
Best for: Apple's animated logos, for fun
Brooklyn recreates the animated Apple logos from Apple's October 2018 event. It's free and MIT licensed, version 2.1.0, and its README says it's not actively maintained, so it may not behave on the newest macOS.
Comparison
Mac screensavers compared
From each one's own page, checked October 25, 2026.
| Price | What you see | macOS | Maintained | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koi's idle screen | Comes with Koi: $20 a month, or Lifetime, paid once | A big clock, or floating Kois | 14+ | Yes, Koi 2.0 |
| Apple's aerials | Free, built in | Slow-motion films, Photos, classics | Sonoma and later | Yes |
| Aerial | Free, open source | Aerial films | 26+ (4.0.16 for Sequoia) | Yes, October 2026 |
| Fliqlo | Free | A flip clock | 14+ | Tahoe not stated |
| Brooklyn | Free, open source | Animated Apple logos | Not tested on current macOS | No, says its README |
How to
How to change your screen saver on a Mac
On macOS Tahoe and later:
- Choose Apple menu, then System Settings, then Wallpaper in the sidebar.
- Click Screen Saver on the right. You may need to scroll.
- Pick one, or Shuffle Aerials to rotate. Hover a thumbnail and click Preview to see it.
- Set how long your Mac sits idle before it starts with Start Screen Saver.
On macOS Sequoia, Screen Saver has its own place in the System Settings sidebar, and the start time is in Lock Screen. Apple's guides: Tahoe and Sequoia.
Gotchas
When a screen saver doesn't start
- The display turns off first. If your Mac turns the screen off before the screen saver's start time, you never see it. Set the screen saver to start sooner.
- Third-party screen savers on Tahoe. People report black screens, screen savers starting twice, or not starting until a restart, and an Apple engineer acknowledged it on Apple's developer forums (thread 787444).
- A hot corner helps: System Settings, Desktop & Dock, Hot Corners, and pick Start Screen Saver for a corner.
Choosing
Which screensaver should you use on your Mac?
- Beautiful and free, with nothing to install? Apple's aerials.
- More aerials, kept up to date? Aerial.
- A flip clock? Fliqlo.
- Something playful and retro? Brooklyn, if it still runs on your Mac.
- A calm clock that waits for your calls and videos, in an assistant you'd use anyway? Koi's idle screen.
Koi's plans are on the pricing page. Paid from the first day, with no free trial.
Keep exploring
How to hide desktop icons and widgets on your Mac
Hide every desktop icon and widget on a Mac before a screen share or recording: Desktop & Dock settings, a Terminal command, or one tap of Shift with Koi.
How to switch dark mode on and off fast on your Mac
Switch dark mode on and off fast on a Mac: Control Center, a keyboard shortcut made with the Shortcuts app, Auto in System Settings, or a tap of Shift with Koi.
Koi 2.0: your notch, a teleprompter and a board on your desktop
Koi 2.0 moves into your MacBook's notch, with a teleprompter under the camera, a board on your desktop, Spotify, AirDrop, keyboard sounds and an idle screen.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Apple's built-in aerials are free and already on your Mac. Aerial is a free, open-source app with more films, and Fliqlo is a free flip clock.
Yes. Aerial 4.1.9, from October 23, 2026, needs macOS 26 Tahoe or later. Macs on Sequoia get version 4.0.16.
Not among Apple's own. Fliqlo is a free flip clock screen saver, and Koi's idle screen can show a big clock over every display.
Not a macOS one. It's Koi's own black screen over every display, with a clock or floating Kois, after 1 to 30 minutes away. It doesn't lock your Mac and never starts during a call, a recording or a video.
Often the display turns off before the screen saver's start time. Set it to start sooner. Third-party screen savers have also had bugs on macOS Tahoe.