The best cursor highlighter apps for Mac

All the apps side by side

From each app’s own page on 30 October 2026. Prices and features change, so check before you buy.

What macOS already does

Before you install anything, try these:

• Make the pointer bigger or change its colour: System Settings → Accessibility → Display → Pointer. Pointer size, outline colour and fill colour are all there.
• Shake to locate: in the same place, turn on Shake mouse pointer to locate. Wiggle the mouse and the pointer grows for a moment.
• Show Mouse Clicks: press Shift-Command-5, open Options and turn on Show Mouse Clicks. Apple’s recorder then draws a black circle on each click, in that recording only, with no sound. More in how to show mouse clicks on Mac.

These are enough for a quick recording. For calls, other recorders, a colour you choose or a sound, you need an app.

Editors that add the highlight afterwards

Some recording editors draw the click highlight, or zoom in on clicks, after you record. That suits a polished tutorial, does nothing on a live call or stream, and adds a step to every clip. The apps below draw the effect live, on your real screen. More in how to show mouse clicks on Mac and Clacky vs Screen Studio.

Clacky: a ripple plus a real click sound

Clacky draws a ripple under the cursor on every click, on your real screen, so it shows in any recorder (OBS, Loom, QuickTime, Screen Studio), on Zoom, Meet and Teams screen shares, and on a stream. Pick a ring, double ring, glow or dot, a size from tiny to big, a line weight, an opacity, a speed and a colour for each button, so right clicks look different. The Recording preset switches to a big, bold double ring that stays visible on dark screens, and a round click sound that reads well on a mic.

It also plays one of 37 click sounds on every press and release, tap to click included, a tick for every scroll notch and keyboard sounds. Its own screen recorder (macOS 15+) keeps the sounds in the video. $4.99 once for 1 Mac, after a 3-day free trial with no card. Compare: Clacky vs CursorFlow.

Best for: recordings, demos and calls where clicks should look and sound good.

Mouseposé

Mouseposé, from Boinx, is a classic for presenters: a hotkey dims the screen and leaves a lit circle around the pointer. Clicks get a red circle, with a sound if you want it and different colours for left and right clicks, and it can show the keys you type on screen. It offers a free trial, then $9.99 a year from Boinx’s store (the price at checkout on 30 October 2026), and needs macOS 10.14 or later.

Best for: live presentations and teaching, where the spotlight matters most.

Mouzz

Mouzz is free on the Mac App Store, with every feature included: a spotlight, a ring around the pointer, seven cursor trail styles, seven click effects, a click sound (a system sound or your own file), a keystroke display, drawing on screen and shake to locate. It needs macOS 13 or later and runs on Apple silicon and Intel.

Best for: the most features for free.

CursorFlow

CursorFlow puts a ripple on every click, draws cursor trails and can play an optional click sound with adjustable volume. Spotlight, magnifier and drawing on screen are in Pro, a $4.99 one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, and new users get Pro free for 24 hours. It needs macOS 14 or later.

Best for: cursor trails and ripples in a simple menu-bar app. Clacky vs CursorFlow.

Cursor Pilot

Cursor Pilot has four tools: Snap (moves the pointer to the centre of a display), Click (a visual effect on each click, set separately for left and right), Trail and Beacon (a highlight that helps you find the pointer). Every feature is unlocked for 7 days, then it’s a $4.99 one-time unlock. It needs macOS 12.4 or later.

Best for: several displays, where finding the pointer is half the problem.

Cluxo

Cluxo is a free, open-source (MIT) menu-bar app: a coloured ring, a spotlight, a different ripple for left, right, double and wheel clicks, a magnifier from 1.5× to 4× and drawing on screen. It installs with Homebrew and needs macOS 13 or later; its page says the current build targets Apple silicon.

Best for: free and open source, with a magnifier.

CursorRipple

CursorRipple adds click ripples, a magnifier and rainbow strokes for drawing on screen. It costs $0.99 on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 13 or later.

Best for: a simple, cheap ripple.

How to choose

1. Presenting to a room? A spotlight helps most: Mouseposé, Mouzz, Cluxo or CursorFlow Pro.
2. Recording a tutorial? A clear click ripple, plus a click sound if your viewers should hear each click: Clacky, Mouzz or CursorFlow.
3. Free? Start with macOS’s own pointer settings, then Mouzz or Cluxo.
4. Use one at a time. Two highlighters, or one plus Apple’s Show Mouse Clicks, give every click two circles.

Do cursor highlighters show up in screen recordings?

Yes, if they draw on your screen, which all of these apps do: any recorder that films the screen films the effect. Record the whole screen or an area rather than a single window, because the effect sits on its own layer above your apps. A click sound is only in the video if your recorder records your Mac’s audio; see how to record the click sound.