diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 24e708a..79d8fc2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ import active from 'svelte-spa-router/active'
 }
 </style>
 
-<a href="/hello/user" use:link use:active={{path: '/hello/*', className: 'active'}}>Say hi!</a>
+<a href="/hello/user" use:link use:active={{path: '/hello/*', className: 'active', inactiveClassName: 'inactive'}}>Say hi!</a>
 <a href="/hello/user" use:link use:active={'/hello/*'}>Say hi with a default className!</a>
 <a href="/hello/user" use:link use:active>Say hi with all default options!</a>
 ````
@@ -351,6 +351,7 @@ The `active` action accepts a dictionary `options` as argument:
 
 - `options.path`: the path that, when matched, makes the link active. In the first example above, we want the link to be active when the route is `/hello/*` (the asterisk matches anything after that). As you can see, this doesn't have to be the same as the path the link points to. When `options.path` is omitted or false-y, it defaults to the path specified in the link's `href` attribute. This parameter can also be a regular expression that will mark the link as active when it matches: for example, setting to the regular expression `/^\/*\/hi$/` will make the link active when it starts with `/` and ends with `/hi`, regardless of what's in between.
 - `options.className`: the name of the CSS class to add. This is optional, and it defaults to `active` if not present.
+- `options.inactiveClassName`: the name of the CSS class to add when the link is _not_ active. This is optional, and it defaults to nothing if not present.
 
 As a shorthand, instead of passing a dictionary as `options`, you can pass a single string or regular expression that will be interpreted as `options.path`.
 
diff --git a/active.d.ts b/active.d.ts
index fa18a6e..798cf83 100644
--- a/active.d.ts
+++ b/active.d.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ interface ActiveOptions {
 
     /** Name of the CSS class to add when the route is active; default is "active" */
     className?: string
+
+    /** Name of the CSS class to add when the route is inactive; nothing added by default */
+    inactiveClassName?: string
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/active.js b/active.js
index 46cc261..0185ee9 100644
--- a/active.js
+++ b/active.js
@@ -9,16 +9,21 @@ let location
 
 // Function that updates all nodes marking the active ones
 function checkActive(el) {
-    // Repeat this for each class
-    (el.className || '').split(' ').forEach((cls) => {
+    const matchesLocation = el.pattern.test(location)
+    toggleClasses(el, el.className, matchesLocation)
+    toggleClasses(el, el.inactiveClassName, !matchesLocation)
+}
+
+function toggleClasses(el, className, shouldAdd) {
+    (className || '').split(' ').forEach((cls) => {
         if (!cls) {
             return
         }
-        // Remove the active class firsts
+        // Remove the class firsts
         el.node.classList.remove(cls)
 
-        // If the pattern matches, then set the active class
-        if (el.pattern.test(location)) {
+        // If the pattern doesn't match, then set the class
+        if (shouldAdd) {
             el.node.classList.add(cls)
         }
     })
@@ -88,6 +93,7 @@ export default function active(node, opts) {
     const el = {
         node,
         className: opts.className,
+        inactiveClassName: opts.inactiveClassName,
         pattern
     }
     nodes.push(el)
diff --git a/test/app/src/App.svelte b/test/app/src/App.svelte
index b4bef74..119d089 100644
--- a/test/app/src/App.svelte
+++ b/test/app/src/App.svelte
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 <ul class="navigation-links">
     <li><a href="/" use:link use:active>Home</a></li>
     <li><a href="/brand" use:link><b>Brand</b></a></li>
-    <li><a href="/hello/svelte" use:link use:active={{path: '/hello/*', className: 'active another-class'}}>Say hi!</a></li>
+    <li><a href="/hello/svelte" use:link use:active={{path: '/hello/*', className: 'active another-class', inactiveClassName: 'inactive'}}>Say hi!</a></li>
     <li><a href="/does/not/exist" use:link>Not found</a></li>
 </ul>
 
@@ -58,6 +58,10 @@
 :global(a.active) {
     color: crimson;
 }
+/* Style for "inactive" links; need to mark this :global because the router adds the class directly */
+:global(a.inactive) {
+    color: gray;
+}
 </style>
 
 <script>
diff --git a/test/cases/02-active-action.test.js b/test/cases/02-active-action.test.js
index ce87015..29de49d 100644
--- a/test/cases/02-active-action.test.js
+++ b/test/cases/02-active-action.test.js
@@ -62,6 +62,29 @@ describe('use:active action', function() {
         browser.end()
     })
 
+    it('inactive class', (browser) => {
+        // Check if inactive class is toggled
+        browser
+            .url(browser.launchUrl + '/#/hello/world')
+            .waitForElementVisible('ul.navigation-links')
+            // There should be no inactive class when link is active
+            .elements('css selector', 'ul.navigation-links li a.inactive', (elements) => {
+                assert(elements)
+                assert.strictEqual(elements.value.length, 0)
+
+                browser
+                    .url(browser.launchUrl + '/#/notfound')
+                    .waitForElementVisible('ul.navigation-links')
+                    // There should an inactive class when link is not active
+                    .elements('css selector', 'ul.navigation-links li a.inactive', (elements) => {
+                        assert(elements)
+                        assert.strictEqual(elements.value.length, 1)
+
+                        browser.end()
+                    })
+            })
+    })
+
     it('navigating pages', (browser) => {
         browser
             .url(browser.launchUrl + '/#/hello/world')