The best custom cursor plugin for WordPress depends on how far you want to go. Ultimate Cursor has the largest free toolkit — text, image, icon, shape and eight animated cursors, plus animated backgrounds. Smooth Custom Cursor offers nine free styles with hover effects. Hura Custom Cursors is the simplest. Premium Addons adds a cursor to Elementor, but only in Pro.
Disclosure: WPXERO makes Ultimate Cursor; this comparison covers version 2.5.0. Everything said here about the other plugins comes from their WordPress.org readmes, linked in each section, as of October 25, 2026. Plugins change, so check those pages before you choose.
How we compared them
We looked at the plugins that come up for "custom cursor" on WordPress.org and compared:
- Cursor types — text, image, icon, shape and animated effects.
- Hover behaviour — whether the cursor reacts to links and buttons.
- Targeting — one cursor everywhere, or different cursors per page or element.
- Touch and motion — what happens on phones and for visitors who reduce motion.
- What's free — and what needs a paid upgrade.
Comparison table
| Ultimate Cursor | Smooth Custom Cursor | Hura Custom Cursors | Cursor Style & Animation | Premium Addons for Elementor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, optional Pro | Free | Free | Free | Cursor is a Pro feature |
| Cursor types | Text, image, icon, shape, animated | 9 styles incl. image | Built-in library + image | CSS cursor styles + image | Elementor containers and widgets |
| Built-in icons | 113 | — | Library | — | — |
| Animated cursor effects | 8 | Trail styles in some of the 9 | — | 4 (trail, particles, ripple, magnetic) | — |
| Hover reaction | Pro (Interactive Hover) | Yes, on some styles | — | Magnetic, via a CSS class | — |
| Different cursor per page / element | Pro | — | — | — | Per container or widget |
| Animated background effects | 2, free | — | — | — | Pro (particles, gradients) |
| Hidden on touch devices | Automatic | Option | Not stated | Optional mobile support | — |
| Respects reduced motion | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | — |
| Works outside Elementor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No — Elementor only |
Sources: Ultimate Cursor, Smooth Custom Cursor, Hura Custom Cursors, Cursor Style & Animation, Premium Addons for Elementor.
Ultimate Cursor — best all-round toolkit
Ultimate Cursor replaces the mouse pointer with text, an image, an icon, a shape or an animated effect, and can add an animated WebGL background behind your pages. Everything is set up in a dashboard with a live preview, and the free plugin has no locked or disabled controls.
The free version includes five cursor types, a library of 113 icons, five geometric shapes, eight animated effects (Bubble, Splash, Snowflake, Trail, Character, Rainbow, Click Spark and Click Particles) and two backgrounds (Antigravity and Light Pillar). The cursor hides itself on touch devices, respects the visitor's reduced-motion setting, and each effect is a separate file that loads only when your configuration uses it. You can try every effect live before installing.
Pick it if: you want more than one look to choose from, an animated effect rather than a static pointer, or a background effect from the same plugin.
What Pro adds: Interactive Hover (the cursor grows, changes colour, glows, pulls toward the element and shows labels such as "Open"), several cursor configurations, page, CSS selector and HTML element targeting, 20 more shapes, Circular Text, image hotspot positioning, settings for every animated effect and background motion controls. Pro starts at $24.99 a year, or $74.99 lifetime, for one site.
Where it falls short: the free version applies one cursor and one background to the whole site, and hover reactions need Pro.
Smooth Custom Cursor — best free single cursor with hover
Smooth Custom Cursor offers nine styles, each with its own settings and a live preview: Dot + Ring with a magnetic hover, a Glow Circle that grows and shows custom text on hover, a Diamond, a Water Arrow, Bubble and Character trails, Sparkle → Arrow, Seed → Bloom, and an Image cursor.
Pick it if: you want one polished cursor with a hover reaction, for free, and don't need different cursors in different places.
Watch out for: one style at a time across the whole site, no page or element targeting, and no background effects. Its readme doesn't mention reduced-motion support.
Hura Custom Cursors — simplest option
Hura Custom Cursors does one thing: pick a cursor from its built-in library or upload your own image, with a live preview in the settings.
Pick it if: you want a static image or library cursor and nothing else.
Watch out for: no animation, no hover behaviour and no targeting. Its readme says it's tested up to WordPress 7.0.
Cursor Style & Animation — free trail and particle effects
Cursor Style & Animation adds four canvas effects — trail, particles, ripple and magnetic — and lets you switch between the browser's built-in cursor styles or upload a custom image. It respects reduced motion.
Pick it if: you want a trail or ripple behind the normal pointer.
Watch out for: the magnetic effect needs a magnetic class or data-magnetic attribute added to elements by hand, and its readme lists testing up to WordPress 6.9.
Premium Addons for Elementor — if you already pay for it
Premium Addons includes a Custom Mouse Cursor global addon that applies a cursor to a chosen Elementor container or widget. It's marked Pro in the readme, and it only works on pages built with Elementor.
Pick it if: your site is all Elementor and you already have a Premium Addons Pro licence.
Watch out for: it's not available in the free plugin, and it doesn't apply outside Elementor.
Which plugin should you choose?
| If you need… | Choose |
|---|---|
| The most cursor types and effects for free | Ultimate Cursor |
| A cursor plus an animated background in one plugin | Ultimate Cursor |
| Different cursors on different pages or elements | Ultimate Cursor Pro |
| A cursor that reacts to links with labels like "Open" | Ultimate Cursor Pro |
| One free cursor with a built-in hover effect | Smooth Custom Cursor |
| A static image cursor and nothing else | Hura Custom Cursors |
| A cursor inside an Elementor site you already license | Premium Addons Pro |
How to try Ultimate Cursor
- Open the live demo and try each cursor type and background in your browser.
- Install Ultimate Cursor from WordPress.org and open Ultimate Cursor in your dashboard.
- Choose a cursor type, adjust it in the live preview, and click Save.
- When you want hover effects, more than one cursor or page targeting, compare the Pro plans.
For ideas, see 10 custom cursor effects and when to use each, or the complete Ultimate Cursor guide.