diff --git a/alacritty.yml b/alacritty.yml
index c08713c6..96fe6e24 100644
--- a/alacritty.yml
+++ b/alacritty.yml
@@ -48,12 +48,19 @@ font:
 # Should display the render timer
 render_timer: false
 
+# Use custom cursor colors. If true, display the cursor in the cursor.foreground
+# and cursor.background colors, otherwise invert the colors of the cursor.
+custom_cursor_colors: false
+
 # Colors (Tomorrow Night Bright)
 colors:
   # Default colors
   primary:
     background: '0x000000'
     foreground: '0xeaeaea'
+  cursor:
+    background: '0xffffff'
+    foreground: '0x000000'
 
   # Normal colors
   normal:
diff --git a/alacritty_macos.yml b/alacritty_macos.yml
index de60f7ef..386e4590 100644
--- a/alacritty_macos.yml
+++ b/alacritty_macos.yml
@@ -48,12 +48,19 @@ font:
 # Should display the render timer
 render_timer: false
 
+# Use custom cursor colors. If true, display the cursor in the cursor.foreground
+# and cursor.background colors, otherwise invert the colors of the cursor.
+custom_cursor_colors: false
+
 # Colors (Tomorrow Night Bright)
 colors:
   # Default colors
   primary:
     background: '0x000000'
     foreground: '0xeaeaea'
+  cursor:
+    background: '0xffffff'
+    foreground: '0x000000'
 
   # Normal colors
   normal:
diff --git a/src/ansi.rs b/src/ansi.rs
index 30048048..c9f7e268 100644
--- a/src/ansi.rs
+++ b/src/ansi.rs
@@ -380,6 +380,10 @@ pub enum NamedColor {
     Foreground = 256,
     /// The background color
     Background,
+    /// The cursor foreground color
+    CursorForeground,
+    /// The cursor background color
+    CursorBackground,
 }
 
 impl NamedColor {
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 4ef3481b..1aaf5692 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -34,9 +34,10 @@ fn true_bool() -> bool {
 ///
 /// The first 16 entries are the standard ansi named colors. Items 16..232 are
 /// the color cube.  Items 233..256 are the grayscale ramp. Finally, item 256 is
-/// the configured foreground color, and item 257 is the configured background
-/// color.
-pub struct ColorList([Rgb; 258]);
+/// the configured foreground color, item 257 is the configured background
+/// color, item 258 is the cursor foreground color, item 259 is the cursor
+//background color.
+pub struct ColorList([Rgb; 260]);
 
 impl fmt::Debug for ColorList {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
@@ -88,6 +89,10 @@ impl ColorList {
         // Foreground and background
         self[ansi::NamedColor::Foreground] = colors.primary.foreground;
         self[ansi::NamedColor::Background] = colors.primary.background;
+
+        // Foreground and background for custom cursor colors
+        self[ansi::NamedColor::CursorForeground] = colors.cursor.foreground;
+        self[ansi::NamedColor::CursorBackground] = colors.cursor.background;
     }
 
     fn fill_cube(&mut self) {
@@ -218,7 +223,11 @@ pub struct Config {
     #[serde(default)]
     render_timer: bool,
 
-    /// Should show render timer
+    /// Should use custom cursor colors
+    #[serde(default)]
+    custom_cursor_colors: bool,
+
+    /// Should draw bold text with brighter colors intead of bold font
     #[serde(default="true_bool")]
     draw_bold_text_with_bright_colors: bool,
 
@@ -266,6 +275,7 @@ impl Default for Config {
             dpi: Default::default(),
             font: Default::default(),
             render_timer: Default::default(),
+            custom_cursor_colors: false,
             colors: Default::default(),
             key_bindings: Vec::new(),
             mouse_bindings: Vec::new(),
@@ -668,6 +678,7 @@ pub enum Error {
 #[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
 pub struct Colors {
     primary: PrimaryColors,
+    cursor: PrimaryColors,
     normal: AnsiColors,
     bright: AnsiColors,
 }
@@ -687,6 +698,10 @@ impl Default for Colors {
                 background: Rgb { r: 0, g: 0, b: 0 },
                 foreground: Rgb { r: 0xea, g: 0xea, b: 0xea },
             },
+            cursor: PrimaryColors {
+                foreground: Rgb { r: 0, g: 0, b: 0 },
+                background: Rgb { r: 0xff, g: 0xff, b: 0xff },
+            },
             normal: AnsiColors {
                 black: Rgb {r: 0x00, g: 0x00, b: 0x00},
                 red: Rgb {r: 0xd5, g: 0x4e, b: 0x53},
@@ -933,6 +948,11 @@ impl Config {
         self.font.use_thin_strokes
     }
 
+    /// show cursor as inverted
+    #[inline]
+    pub fn custom_cursor_colors(&self) -> bool {
+        self.custom_cursor_colors
+    }
 
     pub fn path(&self) -> Option<&Path> {
         self.config_path
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index e51875a6..5126b09d 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ fn run(mut config: Config, options: cli::Options) -> Result<(), Box<Error>> {
     // This object contains all of the state about what's being displayed. It's
     // wrapped in a clonable mutex since both the I/O loop and display need to
     // access it.
-    let terminal = Term::new(display.size().to_owned());
+    let terminal = Term::new(&config, display.size().to_owned());
     let terminal = Arc::new(FairMutex::new(terminal));
 
     // Create the pty
@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ fn run(mut config: Config, options: cli::Options) -> Result<(), Box<Error>> {
                 config = new_config;
                 display.update_config(&config);
                 processor.update_config(&config);
+                terminal.update_config(&config);
                 terminal.dirty = true;
             });
 
diff --git a/src/term/cell.rs b/src/term/cell.rs
index 021ce280..e6e9f340 100644
--- a/src/term/cell.rs
+++ b/src/term/cell.rs
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@
 // WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
-use std::mem;
-
 use ansi::{NamedColor, Color};
 use grid;
 use index::Column;
@@ -98,11 +96,6 @@ impl Cell {
         // memcpy template to self
         *self = *template;
     }
-
-    #[inline]
-    pub fn swap_fg_and_bg(&mut self) {
-        mem::swap(&mut self.fg, &mut self.bg);
-    }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
diff --git a/src/term/mod.rs b/src/term/mod.rs
index 9d443723..92242071 100644
--- a/src/term/mod.rs
+++ b/src/term/mod.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 // limitations under the License.
 //
 //! Exports the `Term` type which is a high-level API for the Grid
+use std::mem;
 use std::ops::{Deref, Range, Index, IndexMut};
 use std::ptr;
 use std::cmp::min;
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ use ansi::{self, Color, NamedColor, Attr, Handler, CharsetIndex, StandardCharset
 use grid::{Grid, ClearRegion, ToRange};
 use index::{self, Point, Column, Line, Linear, IndexRange, Contains, RangeInclusive};
 use selection::{Span, Selection};
+use config::{Config};
 
 pub mod cell;
 pub use self::cell::Cell;
@@ -42,6 +44,7 @@ pub struct RenderableCellsIter<'a> {
     line: Line,
     column: Column,
     selection: Option<RangeInclusive<index::Linear>>,
+    cursor_original: Option<IndexedCell>
 }
 
 impl<'a> RenderableCellsIter<'a> {
@@ -54,6 +57,7 @@ impl<'a> RenderableCellsIter<'a> {
         cursor: &'b Point,
         mode: TermMode,
         selection: &Selection,
+        custom_cursor_colors: bool,
     ) -> RenderableCellsIter<'b> {
         let selection = selection.span()
             .map(|span| span.to_range(grid.num_cols()));
@@ -65,14 +69,27 @@ impl<'a> RenderableCellsIter<'a> {
             line: Line(0),
             column: Column(0),
             selection: selection,
-        }.initialize()
+            cursor_original: None,
+        }.initialize(custom_cursor_colors)
     }
 
-    fn initialize(self) -> Self {
+    fn initialize(mut self, custom_cursor_colors: bool) -> Self {
         if self.cursor_is_visible() {
-            self.grid[self.cursor].swap_fg_and_bg();
-        }
+            self.cursor_original = Some(IndexedCell {
+                line:   self.cursor.line,
+                column: self.cursor.col,
+                inner:  self.grid[self.cursor]
+            });
+            if custom_cursor_colors {
+                let cell = &mut self.grid[self.cursor];
+                cell.fg = Color::Named(NamedColor::CursorForeground);
+                cell.bg = Color::Named(NamedColor::CursorBackground);
 
+            } else {
+                let cell = &mut self.grid[self.cursor];
+                mem::swap(&mut cell.fg, &mut cell.bg);
+            }
+        }
         self
     }
 
@@ -87,7 +104,9 @@ impl<'a> Drop for RenderableCellsIter<'a> {
     /// Resets temporary render state on the grid
     fn drop(&mut self) {
         if self.cursor_is_visible() {
-            self.grid[self.cursor].swap_fg_and_bg();
+            if let Some(ref original) = self.cursor_original {
+                self.grid[self.cursor] = original.inner;
+            }
         }
     }
 }
@@ -327,6 +346,8 @@ pub struct Term {
     empty_cell: Cell,
 
     pub dirty: bool,
+
+    custom_cursor_colors: bool,
 }
 
 /// Terminal size info
@@ -377,7 +398,7 @@ impl Term {
         self.next_title.take()
     }
 
-    pub fn new(size: SizeInfo) -> Term {
+    pub fn new(config : &Config, size: SizeInfo) -> Term {
         let template = Cell::default();
 
         let num_cols = size.cols();
@@ -411,9 +432,14 @@ impl Term {
             size_info: size,
             template_cell: template,
             empty_cell: template,
+            custom_cursor_colors: config.custom_cursor_colors(),
         }
     }
 
+    pub fn update_config(&mut self, config: &Config) {
+        self.custom_cursor_colors = config.custom_cursor_colors()
+    }
+
     #[inline]
     pub fn needs_draw(&self) -> bool {
         self.dirty
@@ -564,7 +590,7 @@ impl Term {
     /// background color.  Cells with an alternate background color are
     /// considered renderable as are cells with any text content.
     pub fn renderable_cells(&mut self, selection: &Selection) -> RenderableCellsIter {
-        RenderableCellsIter::new(&mut self.grid, &self.cursor, self.mode, selection)
+        RenderableCellsIter::new(&mut self.grid, &self.cursor, self.mode, selection, self.custom_cursor_colors)
     }
 
     /// Resize terminal to new dimensions
@@ -1248,7 +1274,7 @@ mod tests {
             cell_width: 3.0,
             cell_height: 3.0,
         };
-        let mut term = Term::new(size);
+        let mut term = Term::new(&Default::default(), size);
         let cursor = Point::new(Line(0), Column(0));
         term.configure_charset(CharsetIndex::G0,
                                StandardCharset::SpecialCharacterAndLineDrawing);
@@ -1306,7 +1332,7 @@ mod benches {
         let mut grid: Grid<Cell> = json::from_str(&serialized_grid).unwrap();
         let size: SizeInfo = json::from_str(&serialized_size).unwrap();
 
-        let mut terminal = Term::new(size);
+        let mut terminal = Term::new(&Default::default(), size);
         mem::swap(&mut terminal.grid, &mut grid);
 
         b.iter(|| {
diff --git a/tests/ref.rs b/tests/ref.rs
index c91fdc78..b8be58cf 100644
--- a/tests/ref.rs
+++ b/tests/ref.rs
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ fn ref_test(dir: &Path) {
     let size: SizeInfo = json::from_str(&serialized_size).unwrap();
     let grid: Grid<Cell> = json::from_str(&serialized_grid).unwrap();
 
-    let mut terminal = Term::new(size);
+    let mut terminal = Term::new(&Default::default(), size);
     let mut parser = ansi::Processor::new();
 
     for byte in recording {