My list of the Best Drawing Tablets is Xencelabs just released the Pen Display 16, a bigger tablet. I like to test these gadgets over a few weeks so I can give them a full review, which is still in progress.
For many professionals, it’s important to feel like they’re using a pencil on paper while they’re working on a tablet screen. The best drawing tablets make this experience perfect, which is why digital artists and other creative people can’t live without them.
Drawing tools come in three main types:
- A standard graphics tablet is a flat, thin device known for being very accurate. It requires an external screen to show information.
- Pen displays work like regular drawing tablets, but they have a built-in screen, so you can draw straight on it.
- Tablet computers like the iPad have a screen and can run art apps directly, making them perfect for artists.
To help you choose the best drawing tablet, we put a bunch of different models through a lot of tests and asked our users for their thoughts. We looked at their price, speed, software compatibility, and style to find the best ones for a range of needs. If you’re on a budget, a beginner, or a student, check out the best cheap drawing tablets or the best tablets with styluses for a complete package.
Best Drawing Tablet Overall
01. Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle
If you’re looking for a powerful, stylish, versatile, and reasonably priced writing tablet, go no further than the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium. Even though Xencelabs is a fairly new company in the market, their team includes former Wacom experts who bring a lot of knowledge to their goods. One thing that makes this tablet stand out is its design, especially the feel of the writing surface. It gives the pen just the right amount of “bite,” which makes drawing very enjoyable. Our reader gave it five stars because of this, and my own experience shows that it is very easy to use.
The Xencelabs Best Pen Tablet Medium is different from other designs because the Quick Keys are moved to a Bluetooth control. This makes the writing area bigger. This might seem like an odd way to do things, but it makes the tablet more useful.
It has a 60-degree tilt and 8,192 levels of pressure feedback, which makes it easy to handle. The tablet comes with two pens that can be used in different ways, an OLED monitor, and a Quick Key control with eight customizable buttons. The Xencelabs app makes adjustments easy and works with the best design tools. At $249.99 or $329.99 with the necessary Quick Key remote, it’s a great deal compared to other choices like the Wacom Intuos Pro.
Best Large Drawing Tablet
02. Wacom Intuos Pro (large)
When it comes to drawing tablets, Wacom is a well-known name that artists choose because their products are solid and work with a lot of other brands. The Wacom Intuos Pro Large stands out because it lets you draw naturally with a large area and a pen that works like a traditional drawing tool. Our review focused on how quick it is and how well it works with popular digital art programs.
The Intuos Pro Large is made from black anodized aluminum and fiberglass composite plastic. Its slim, 8 mm-thick body has a nice drawing curve and measures 16.8 x 11.2 x 0.3 inches.
The pen on the tablet can sense 8,192 different amounts of pressure, which makes writing feel real. Wacom’s environment includes different pens and Texture Sheets, and the ability to use multiple touch screens lets you control things with gestures. You can change everything about the Quick Keys and the pen, and the tablet has Bluetooth built-in. The price is $499.95 or £449.99, and it comes with a free app and a saving code for a second Wacom Intuos Wireless Tablet.
Best Budget Drawing Tablet
03. XPPen Deco MW
This best tablet for drawing, the XPPen Deco MW, is cheap and nice to look at. It’s perfect for new artists and people who are just starting with digital art. It stands out as a good entry-level choice because it has the right amount of features for the price. When it comes to design, professional artists may want something more reliable and easy to set up, but the Deco MW is a good choice for beginners. I needed help figuring out how to use the tuning app and driver than Wacom’s. You can get the tablet in pretty colors like pink, blue, and green. It has a drawing area that is 8 inches by 5 inches, which is good for newbies but might need to be bigger for professionals. With an 8.5 mm thickness, the tablet is very thin and easy to carry around.
Even though it’s not too expensive, the XPPen Deco MW has a great stylus driven by an X3 chip that has 8,192 pressure levels and a 60-degree tilt feature. It can link via USB and Bluetooth, and the wireless mode lasts for more than 10 hours. It also comes with ports for connecting via USB-C.
The Deco MW works with well-known digital art programs like Photoshop, Krita, and Blender. The tablet costs $69.99 or £59.99 and comes with a pen, USB cords, USB adapters, and extra nibs. You can buy items like a secure slipcase separately.
Best Pen Display Overall
04. Xencelabs Pen Display 24
Xencelabs is the best drawing tablet on our list. We had to include another one of their goods in the “pen display” section because they are so good. The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is their newest product, and it stands out for how quick it is, how it looks, and how well it was built. The anti-glare glass on this 24-inch tablet screen makes it very big, and it doesn’t get dirty or scratch easily. It’s great to draw on this screen; it works quietly even after a long time of use, and it stays cool to the touch.
Like the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium, this pen display moves the adjustable Quick Keys to a separate unit that can be connected to any tablet side. This makes room on the edge for a hand and wrist rest. Like an iPad, this tablet can hold extra screens. The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 has low-glare cut glass, a 4K screen, and 99% Adobe RGB. Its new Switch Display feature lets you switch between screens smoothly, which makes you more productive. It costs $1,899 / £1,850, which is about $600 / £600 less than the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24, and comes with all the tools you need.
Best Wacom Pen Display
05. Wacom Cintiq 22
Despite more competition, Wacom remains a household brand. For an affordable and long-lasting pen display, consider the Wacom Cintiq 22 when shopping for a drawing tablet. Wacom has a number of good pen screens, but the Cintiq 22 is the best in terms of value, features, and size. The Wacom Cintiq 22 has a 22-inch screen that gives you a lot of room to be artistic. With 96% sRGB, its Full HD quality is great for both professional and amateur artists, though it’s not as sharp as some 4K competitors. Other Wacom tablets have better screens, but they cost more. The Cintiq 22 is a good choice because it is cheap and of good quality.
With its 8,192 levels of pressure and tilt control, the Wacom Pro Pen 2 makes the user experience a lot better. Its anti-glare screen and movable stand make it more appealing, but it doesn’t have Quick Keys or motion control, which helps keep the price low. The Wacom Cintiq 22 is a good buy at £1,229.99 / $1,299.95, and US buyers can get a special deal where they can add a Wacom Intuos Medium at a lower price.
Best Budget Pen Display
06. XPPen Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2)
The XPPen Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) is a pen display that is both cheap and packed with great technology. It has a cutting-edge tip that can sense 16,384 different amounts of pressure. The Quick Keys have been moved to a different remote, which gives you more room to draw. The pen display has a sleek look, with a big curved bar at the bottom to support your wrist, a secret stand that folds up, and small buttons and ports that are easy to miss. The pen looks like a Wacom and comes in a nice case. It can be used as a drawing tablet even when the screen is off.
Making the pen show work and setting it up is easy, which makes making digital art more fun. The stand that comes with it is great, and the fully customizable Quick Key remote makes things easier. The 16-inch screen has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 and an aspect ratio of 16:10. It covers 99% of the sRGB color space and has an anti-glare covering that makes it feel like paper, but it doesn’t have touch or motion controls. It is a great deal at $599.99 / £529.99, especially for students and people who are just starting out.
Best Pen Computer Overall
07. iPad Pro M4 (11-inch)
This is the best tablet for all kinds of tasks, not just writing. It’s the iPad Pro 11-inch (M4). The 12.9-inch model is also very good. The iPad Pro is a stylish and durable gadget that can be used for design, art, and everyday jobs.
The iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) has thin borders and smooth edges, which are Apple’s signature style. As the smallest iPad Pro (440g), it’s great for use on the go. The fully sealed, fingerprint-resistant screen has a size of 2752 x 2064, a brightness of 1000 nits (up to 1,600 nits HDR), and the ability to support multiple touches. However, even though it has an antireflective covering, the screen is still shiny. Nano-textured glass can help reduce glare even more, but it’s only offered on 1TB or 2TB types and costs more.
This 11-inch iPad Pro (M4) has a fast M4 chip and an Ultra Retina XDR screen with True Tone and adjustable frame rates. It’s great for making tablet art and showing it off. With tilt, pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, and new features like entering the tool menu and changing the shape of the brush, the new Apple Pencil Pro makes the experience better.
With 1TB of storage, nano-textured glass, and the Apple Pencil Pro, the price can go up to around $1,800 / £1,800. The 256GB model starts at $999 / £999. Even though the iPad Pro (M4) costs a lot, artists will find it to be the best choice because of all its features.
Best Pen Computer for Desktop Software
08. Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16
The powerful pen computer Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16 runs ZBrush, Houdini, and Unreal Engine 5 and has full Windows. The iPad Pro relies on simpler apps, but this Wacom model has all the features of a desktop computer. The 15.6-inch model I picked is great for digital artists who work with 3D and VFX because it has a bigger screen.
The Wacom has a bigger border than the iPad Pro, but it makes up for it with more ways to connect, such as USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, an audio port, and an SD card reader. This lets you use more than one monitor and make a variety of connections.
The MobileStudio Pro 16 has a powerful Intel Core i7 processor, an NVIDIA Quadro P1000 GPU, and a 512GB SSD. But it weighs 2 kg more and doesn’t come with a stand. The battery lasts about three hours, which is less than the iPad Pro’s. Even though it costs more and is heavier, at $3,499.95 / £3,199.99, it is still the best choice for artists.
Best Budget Pen Computer
09. XPPen Magic Drawing Pad
Claiming to be the first ever portable drawing tablet, the XPPen Magic Drawing Pad is all the rage right now. This makes it different from general tablets like the iPad Pro, which are strong but not made for art. This Android-powered device is slim and only 6.9 mm thick. It weighs 599g and has a screen with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 and a 3:2 aspect ratio, which gives you more room to write. It looks classy with its anti-glare, etched display, and glossy blue finish. The protected frame that comes with it can also be used as a stand and a place to hold the pen.
The pen is a little thinner and lighter than the Apple Pencil 2, and it can sense 16K pressure levels, which is more than Apple and Wacom. The display’s anti-glare covering and bendable surface make writing better, but its 60Hz frame rate and 360 nit brightness are better than those on the iPad Pro and Wacom MobileStudio Pro. When you consider that ArtRage Vitae and ibisPaint X are already loaded, it’s a great deal at $499.99 / £449.99, even though it’s not as fast as the iPad Pro.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1: Who should consider using a drawing tablet for their art?
Answer: If you’re an artist, creator, or painter looking for a flexible digital tool, try a drawing tablet. It gives you accuracy and freedom, making drawing feel natural, like using traditional materials, but with the extra benefits of digital editing and a lot of creative tools.
Q2: What factors determine the best drawing tablet for your needs?
Answer: The best drawing tablet for you will depend on your price, the drawing you like, and the features you need. Some important things to think about are the screen’s size, clarity, response to pressure, software compatibility, and whether it has a built-in display or needs to be linked to a monitor. The general quality of the build and how well it fits your body also matter.
Q3: How did we evaluate and test the top drawing tablets?
Answer: We looked at how well the best drawing tools worked in real-life situations to rate and review them. They were tested for response, pressure sensitivity, color accuracy, and how easy they were to use. We looked at user reviews, software compatibility, build quality, and extra features like buttons that can be programmed and stands that can be adjusted.
Q4: What types of drawing tablets are available for different users?
Answer: There are different kinds of drawing tools for different people. Graphic tablets without screens are basic types that are great for newbies or people on a budget. Because pen devices have screens built in, writing on them is easier to understand. Tablets with advanced features like high clarity, big writing areas, and settings that can be changed for business use are high-end choices.
Q5: How do graphics tablets differ from pen displays in functionality?
Answer: Pen screens and graphics tablets do some of the same things, but they are made in different ways. When you connect a graphics tablet to a computer monitor, you can see your work on the screen. On the other hand, pen displays have a built-in screen that lets you draw right on them. However, pen screens are more natural and direct for writing, while graphics tablets are usually cheaper and smaller.
