Choose MarqueeX if you want scrolling text, logos, posts or products as native blocks and Elementor widgets, free. Choose Ditty if you need a ticker that pulls in RSS or social feeds, schedules items by date, updates live without a refresh, or switches between ticker, list and slider displays — at the cost of paid extensions for most of those.
Disclosure: WPXERO makes MarqueeX; this comparison covers MarqueeX 0.6.2. What we say about Ditty (version 3.1.71) comes from its WordPress.org readme as of October 27, 2026.
Two approaches
Ditty is a content engine: you create a "Ditty" in its own editor, add items (custom text, HTML, a posts feed, or content from extensions), choose a display (ticker, list or slider), and place it with a shortcode, widget or global rendering. It works with any builder because it isn't tied to one.
MarqueeX is a set of marquee blocks and widgets: you add a News Ticker, Text Marquee, Image Marquee, Post Marquee or Infinite Slider right where it should appear, in the block editor or Elementor, and style it there.
At a glance
| MarqueeX | Ditty | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you build it | In the page (block or widget) | Ditty's own editor, then placed |
| Block editor | 5 native blocks | Compatible (placed via Ditty) |
| Elementor | 8 native widgets | Compatible (placed via Ditty) |
| News ticker with label | Free | Free (ticker display) |
| Custom text and HTML items | Text marquee (free) | Free |
| Latest posts | Free, as scrolling cards or headlines | Lite feed free; Ditty Posts extension for more |
| WooCommerce products | Free | Via Ditty Posts (custom post types) |
| Logos and images | Free | Ditty Images extension |
| RSS / XML feeds | — | Extensions |
| Facebook / Instagram | — | Extensions |
| List and slider displays | Infinite Slider (any blocks) | Free |
| Grid display | — | Extension |
| Schedule items by date | — | Ditty Timing extension |
| Live updates without refresh | — | Yes |
| Site-wide without editing templates | Via header template | Global rendering |
| Active installs (WordPress.org) | 900+ | 30,000+ |
Where Ditty is stronger
- Feeds. RSS, XML, Facebook and Instagram content via extensions — something MarqueeX doesn't do.
- Mix and match. One Ditty can combine custom items with several feeds.
- Live updates. Content refreshes in the background without reloading the page — useful for live scores or breaking news.
- Global rendering. Put a ticker anywhere on the site without touching theme files.
- Scheduling. The Ditty Timing extension shows or hides items by date range, day of week or time of day.
- Displays. The same content as a ticker, a paged list or a slider.
If you run a news site that aggregates feeds, Ditty plus its extensions is the more complete system.
Where MarqueeX is stronger
- Free logos, posts and products. Ditty needs extensions for images and full post queries; MarqueeX includes an Image Marquee (logo carousels, galleries) and a Post Marquee (posts, custom post types and WooCommerce products) free. See how to make an infinite logo carousel.
- Built where you design. Each marquee is a native block or widget with typography, colour, spacing, border and responsive controls in the editor sidebar — no separate content type to manage.
- More marquee types. Testimonial and team member marquees, animated headings and a word roller (Elementor), and an Infinite Slider you fill with any blocks.
- Lightweight. CSS keyframe animation, widget scripts under 1 KB, and nothing loaded on pages without a marquee.
- Accessible motion. Respects reduced motion and pauses on hover.
Building a site-wide ticker with MarqueeX
Ditty's global rendering is convenient. With MarqueeX you get the same result through your header:
- Block theme: open Appearance → Editor → Patterns → Header, insert the News Ticker block, set the label ("Breaking", "Latest") and choose your latest posts as the source. It appears on every page that uses the header.
- Elementor: add the News Ticker widget to your header template in the Elementor theme builder.
- Classic theme: use the
[marqueex_ticker]shortcode in a widget area near the top of the page, if your theme has one.
See how to add a news ticker to WordPress for the full setup.
Which should you choose?
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Want RSS, XML or social feeds in a ticker | Ditty + extensions |
| Need live-updating or scheduled items | Ditty |
| Want logos, posts or WooCommerce products scrolling, free | MarqueeX |
| Build in the block editor or Elementor and want native controls | MarqueeX |
| Want testimonials, team or animated headings too | MarqueeX |
For the full field, including Marquee Addons and Logo Carousel, see the marquee and news ticker plugin comparison.