6 Best Image Hotspot WordPress Plugins (Free & Paid)

An image hotspot is a marker pinned to one point on an image. A reader hovers it on desktop or taps it on mobile, and a small panel opens with details about that exact spot.

It is a simple idea that solves a real problem: you can attach a lot of information to one picture without turning it into a cluttered infographic. Shoppable photos, labelled diagrams, floor plans, product feature tours, they all work the same way.

WordPress cannot do this on its own. The core Image block gives you a picture and a caption, and that is where it stops. So you need a plugin.

The catch is that this is a corner of the plugin market where a lot of tools have quietly gone stale. Several of the options that dominate search results have not shipped an update in two or three years. We checked every plugin on this list against its current version, last update date, and pricing before publishing, and we have flagged the ones that are coasting.

Here are the six worth knowing about.

1. Ultimate Blocks

We build Ultimate Blocks, so treat this entry as the biased one and read the rest of the list for balance. That said, the Image Hotspots block does one thing no other plugin here does, and it is worth explaining why.

The block shipped in Ultimate Blocks 3.5.8. You insert it, choose an image, then drag markers onto the exact points you want to label. No shortcodes, no separate admin screen, no page builder. Everything happens in the block editor, on the actual post you are writing.

The part that sets it apart is what goes inside the tooltip. In every other plugin on this list, a tooltip is a fixed template: a title, some text, maybe an image, sometimes a link. In Ultimate Blocks, the tooltip is a block container. Anything in the inserter can go inside it.

So a single hotspot can hold a heading and a paragraph, a close-up photo, a video, a button that sends people to a product page, a star rating, or several of those stacked together. That changes what the block is for. It is not only an annotation tool. It is a way to build a genuinely interactive image inside a normal post.

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Here are some of its key highlights:

• Drag-and-drop marker placement, live in the editor
• Any block can go inside a hotspot tooltip
• No shortcodes and no separate settings screen
• Works with the block editor and block themes
• No limit on the number of hotspots per image
• Comes with 28 other blocks in the same plugin

The one thing to be clear about: Image Hotspots is a Pro block. The Ultimate Blocks plugin itself is free on WordPress.org and includes a large set of blocks, and Pro runs as an add-on on top of it. Pro starts at $39 per year for a single site or $99 once for a lifetime licence, with unlimited-site plans at $79 per year and $199 lifetime. See the full pricing.

If you want to see exactly how it works before deciding, we wrote a step-by-step walkthrough: How to add hotspots on an image in WordPress.

2. Image Hotspot – Map Image Annotation

Image Hotspot by WpMart is the most actively maintained dedicated hotspot plugin in the WordPress.org directory. It has around 3,000 active installs, sits at 4.9 out of 5 across 22 reviews, and updates land regularly rather than once every couple of years. Several of those reviews specifically praise how fast the developer responds to support requests, which counts for a lot in a category this neglected.

It works the old way: you build a hotspot image in a dedicated admin screen, then drop a shortcode wherever you want it. That means it works with any theme and any page builder, but it also means you are editing your interactive image somewhere other than the post you are writing.

What you get in exchange is a deep set of styling controls. Markers can be Font Awesome icons, a custom image, or plain text. There are four built-in tooltip templates plus the option to write your own with custom HTML and CSS. Tooltips can be triggered on hover or on click, and can open as a popup. It also handles embedded content, so a marker can open a YouTube video, a Vimeo video, or a Google Map without leaving the page.

Here are some of its key highlights: 

• 1,600+ Font Awesome icons, or use your own image as a marker
• Four tooltip templates plus a fully custom template option
• Hover, click, and popup trigger options
• Draggable markers with a live backend preview
• Zoom controls and tooltip positioning
• Embed videos and maps inside a hotspot
• Unlimited shortcodes and custom CSS

The free version covers the basics. The Pro version is a lifetime licence starting at $27.99 for one site, rising to $68.99 for 100 sites. Support is free for 14 days, with lifetime support available as a small add-on.

3. Image Hotspot Block by Getwid

Getwid is a free collection of 40-plus Gutenberg blocks from MotoPress, and one of them is an Image Hotspot block. If you want hotspots in the block editor without paying anything, this is the option.

Being a block rather than a shortcode is a real advantage. You place markers directly on the image inside the editor and customise the tooltip from the sidebar: icon, background colour, positioning, and whether a tooltip should be open by default. For labelling a diagram or annotating a screenshot, it does the job.

The honest caveat is development pace. Getwid is still maintained, but only just. The most recent release was version 2.2.0 in April 2026, and it contained a single security fix for an unrelated block. Before that, updates in 2025 were mostly small bug fixes, two of which were fixes for the Image Hotspot block itself, where markers could not be dragged or dropped properly. Its WordPress.org support page also shows unresolved threads. Active installs have drifted down from 60,000 to 50,000 over the past couple of years.

None of that makes it a bad choice. It makes it a stable, feature-frozen choice. If the block does what you need today, it will keep doing it. Just do not expect the tooltip to gain new capabilities.

Here are some of its key highlights: 

• Free, with no upsell for the hotspot block
• Unlimited animated markers with customisable tooltips
• Control over icon, colours, and tooltip position
• Option to show a tooltip open by default
• Native block editor experience
• Arrives with 40+ other blocks you may or may not want

Getwid is completely free. The trade-off is that you are installing a 40-block plugin to get one block, and you cannot expect much forward motion on it.

4. Image Map HotSpot with Lightbox

Image Map HotSpot with Lightbox is the veteran of this list. It launched on CodeCanyon 13 years ago, has sold over 4,000 copies, and holds 4.42 out of 5 across 133 reviews.

Its signature feature is lightbox support. Clicking a marker can open a YouTube or Vimeo video, a full-size image, or a Google Map in an overlay rather than cramming it into a small tooltip. For a floor plan or a venue map, that is genuinely useful. It also offers four popover directions, draggable markers with a live backend preview, optional pulse animations, and numbered markers instead of icons.

The problem is age. The last actual code update was version 1.3.7 in November 2023, and that release only added alt and title attributes to images. The listing declares compatibility with current WordPress versions, but a compatibility checkbox on a marketplace listing is not the same as shipped code. It is also marked as not Gutenberg optimised, so you are working with shortcodes and a classic admin screen throughout.

Here are some of its key highlights: 

• Lightbox for YouTube, Vimeo, images, and Google Maps
• Four popover directions
• Optional pulse animation on markers
• Numbered markers as an alternative to icons
• Drag-and-drop positioning with live preview
• Unlimited hotspots per image, multiple images per page

The Regular Licence is $22, or $105 for an Extended Licence if end users will be charged. Six months of support is included. Buy it for the lightbox behaviour if that is specifically what you need, and go in knowing the plugin is in maintenance mode at best.

5. WordPress Tooltips Ultimate & Image Hotspot

WordPress Tooltips Ultimate is really a tooltip plugin that gained hotspots later. That distinction matters when you are shopping.

Its main strength is that it puts tooltips anywhere on your site, not just on images. Menus, widgets, form labels, WooCommerce elements, even the WordPress admin screens. There are 22 ready-made tooltip themes, five interaction triggers, a large set of animations, Google Fonts support, and tooltip types covering text, image, modal, video, Google Map, and custom HTML. For a documentation-heavy or glossary-heavy site, that breadth is hard to match.

The image hotspot side is thinner: 503 Font Awesome icons, custom marker images, drag-and-drop positioning, two animations, and responsive sizing. Solid, but basic next to the dedicated tools above.

The bigger issue is that this plugin belongs to an earlier era of WordPress. Its last update was January 2024, its last feature release was version 3.5 back in October 2023, and the listing is explicitly marked as not Gutenberg optimised. Tooltips are inserted through a TinyMCE editor button, which is the classic editor rather than the block editor most sites now use.

Here are some of its key highlights: 

• Tooltips anywhere on the site, including the admin area
• 22 ready-made themes plus full styling control
• Text, image, modal, video, map, and HTML tooltip types
• Five show triggers and four hide triggers
• Google Fonts and RTL support
• Basic image hotspot builder with drag-and-drop markers

It is $26 for a Regular Licence and $85 for an Extended Licence, with six months of support. It has 723 sales and a strong 4.85 rating from 27 reviews, so buyers who wanted this specific mix have been happy. Consider it if site-wide tooltips are the actual goal and hotspots are a bonus. If you only want hotspots, skip it.

6. WP VR

WP VR is on this list with a caveat: it is not an image hotspot plugin. It is a 360 degree virtual tour builder, and hotspots are how you place information inside a tour.

The distinction is important. You cannot use WP VR to annotate a flat product photo or a diagram. It needs 360 degree panoramic images. What it does with them is impressive: upload panoramas, connect them so visitors can walk from room to room, and pin hotspots that open text, images, videos, audio, or buttons. Pro adds interactive floor plans, WooCommerce add-to-cart inside a hotspot, VR headset support, and analytics that track which hotspots people actually click.

It is also the most actively developed plugin here by a wide margin. Updates ship most weeks, it has 10,000+ active installs, and it holds 4.7 out of 5 across 131 reviews. Worth noting: a few of the recent negative reviews come from users frustrated by frequent updates breaking live tours, so the release pace cuts both ways.

Here are some of its key highlights: 

• Build multi-scene 360 virtual tours from panoramic photos
• Hotspots that open text, images, GIFs, video, or audio
• 900+ hotspot icons
• Interactive floor plans (Pro)
• WooCommerce add-to-cart inside a hotspot (Pro)
• Hotspot click analytics (Pro)
• Shortcode, block, and page builder support

The free version allows up to 5 scenes with up to 5 hotspots each, which is enough to test the idea properly. Paid plans start at $99.99 per year for a single site, with lifetime licences from $249.99. RexTheme runs discounts often, so check the current price before buying.

Reach for WP VR if you sell or showcase physical space: real estate, hotels, showrooms, campuses, galleries. For anything on a flat image, use one of the plugins above.

How to Choose

Four questions get you to the right pick quickly.

• Are you working with a flat image or a 360 degree panorama? Panoramas mean WP VR. Everything else means one of the first five.
• Do you want to work inside the block editor? If yes, Ultimate Blocks or Getwid. The other three use shortcodes and a separate admin screen, which works fine but keeps you moving between screens.
• How much needs to fit inside the tooltip? For a name and a sentence, any plugin here will do. If a tooltip needs a button, a table, or a product card, Ultimate Blocks is the only option that accepts arbitrary blocks.
• Does active development matter to you? For a site you will maintain for years, yes. Ultimate Blocks, Image Hotspot by WpMart, and WP VR are shipping updates. Getwid is essentially frozen. The two CodeCanyon plugins have not had a real update since 2023.
• A practical route for most people: try Getwid first, since it costs nothing and answers whether hotspots suit your content at all. If you hit its limits, and the limit is usually what fits inside the tooltip, move up to Ultimate Blocks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

Image hotspots are one of those features that look decorative until you use them properly. Then they become the cleanest way to explain a complicated picture.

If you want the shortest path: Getwid to try the idea for free, Image Hotspot by WpMart if you want a dedicated and actively maintained tool with deep styling options, WP VR if you are showcasing physical space, and Ultimate Blocks if you want hotspot tooltips that can hold anything you can build with blocks.

You can see the Image Hotspots block alongside every other block we make on the all blocks page.

Have a question about any of these, or using one we missed? Leave a comment below.