The best drawing tablet
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The Intuos is the most affordable of Wacom’s tablets, and it offers the best value of the graphics tablets we tested. It comes with Corel Painter Essentials 6 for drawing and painting or Corel AfterShot for photo editing. Since a graphics tablet and pen make it easier to create characters and paint backgrounds, drawing programs that weren't only graphics tablet compatible but also made drawing and painting natural-looking scored better in our rating system.
- The best drawing tablet overall
- The best cheap drawing tablet
- Best drawing tablet for beginners
- The best tablet PC for drawing
- Best Windows tablet for drawing
- The best iOS tablet for drawing
- Best Android tablet for drawing
- Drawing tablet accessories
It's tough picking the best drawing tablet, that's for sure. There are loads of fantastic options from a huge range of manufacturers, and whether you're a starting artist on a tight budget or an uncompromising digital pro looking for the best of the best, you've got plenty to choose from. This guide will help you find the best drawing tablet for your needs.
Different tablets provide different advantages and disadvantages. Factors like pen sensitivity, drawing area, function buttons, operation system, wireless connectivity – all these must be considered carefully if you're going to find the best drawing tablet for you. Do you want to go for one of the specialised drawing tools from a company like Wacom (class-leading but often costly) or Huion (more affordable)? Or do you want something that synergises well with your other devices – if so you may want to look into a tablet from Apple or Samsung. As you can see, there’s a lot to consider.
Right now, we're confident in saying that the absolute best drawing tablet you can buy is the Wacom Cintiq 22HD touch pen display. But there is some strong competition from the highly recognisable Apple, with its iPad Pro 12.9, released in November 2018 and boasting some of the best processing power out there. If you are thinking of opting for the latter, don't miss our round up of the best iPad stylus in 2019.
Of course, while both of the above are some of the best drawing tablets on the market they are on the much higher end of the price spectrum. So if you’re trying to save some cash on a stricter budget then we would recommend some of the more affordable options out there, such as the Huion H430P.
Ultimately though, determining the best drawing tablet for you is going to depend entirely on a number of factors including how you intend to use it and how often you'll be on it. (Scroll down to see our full list of recommendations.)
If you're completely new to this market, it's worth pointing out that there are three different categories to be aware of, knowing exactly what you're looking for will help you decide what the best drawing tablet for your needs is.
- Graphics tablets, which you draw directly onto with a stylus
- Pressure-sensitive pen displays, which are hooked up to a monitor
- Tablet computers, which can be adapted for drawing with an app
You can read a more detailed explanation below. With this covered, let's look at the options. Read on to find the best drawing tablet for your specific needs and budget – and the best prices.
The best drawing tablet in 2019
01. Wacom Cintiq 22HD touch pen display
Draw onto a screen that’s big enough for you to express yourself
Active drawing area: 19.5 x 11.5in | Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 | Pen pressure sensitivity: 2,048 levels | Connections: DVI, USB 2.0 | OS: Windows or macOS
Probably the most desirable drawing tablet on the market, the Wacom Cintiq 22HD touch enables you to draw direct onto its screen. It's generously sized so you can go large with your brush strokes, but the stylus is sensitive enough to cope with your most subtle expressions, too. The stand takes some getting used to, but enables you to switch between a near-flat configuration for drawing and an upright position for when you want to use the Cintiq 22HD touch as a regular monitor.
The best cheap drawing tablet
02. XP-Pen Artist 15.6 pen display
A well-sized pen display at a price that might surprise you
Active drawing area: 13.54 x 7.62in | Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: USB-C | OS: Windows or macOS
All the basics you could want from a pen display are covered by the XP-Pen Artist 15.6: a reasonably sized drawing area, a comfortable pen with plenty of sensitivity levels, and a good screen. You don’t get quite the attention to detail or the advanced ecosystem of extras that Wacom provides, and the offset between the stylus tip and the on-screen cursor takes some getting used to, but this remains a pen display that can transform your digital creativity without breaking the bank.
The best graphics tablets
03. Wacom Intuos Pro (large)
The best graphics tablet for artists and illustrators
Active drawing area: 12.1 x 8.4in | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: USB, Bluetooth | OS: Windows or macOS
When you’re creating artwork, you want room to sketch freely and a pen that feels as close as possible to the paper equivalent. You’ll find both in the Wacom Intuos Pro large graphics tablet: it's one of the purest drawing experiences you can get from a digital device. The pen provides over 8,000 levels of pressure sensitivity and a drawing area that – while it’s not the biggest available – gives you more than the area of a magazine to play inside. All this is supported by Wacom’s broad ecosystem of alternative pens and Texture Sheets to give your drawing surface a distinctive feel.
04. Wacom Intuos Pro (Medium)
The best graphics tablet for designers
Active drawing area: 8.7 x 5.8in | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: USB, Bluetooth | OS: Windows or macOS
Designers don’t typically require the range of movement that illustrators demand, making this smaller edition of the Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet just the job. As well as the drawing area, eight shortcut keys and a Touch Ring give you access to your most-used commands and tools, so you don’t have to keep flipping between your tablet and your keyboard while you’re focusing on iterating a concept. The Intuos Pro also supports multi-touch fingertip gestures, making it easy for you pan and zoom around your current document.
The best drawing tablet for beginners
05. Huion H430P
Get started with this low-cost but very usable mini drawing tablet
Active drawing area: 4.8 x 3in | Pen pressure sensitivity: 4,096 levels | Connections: USB | OS: Windows or macOS
If you’re not sure whether a drawing tablet is something you’ll use regularly enough to justify the cost, the H430P gives you all the basics without requiring an big investment. The drawing area is small, yes, but the pen is sensitive enough to give you a true sense of the creative benefits drawing tablets can bring. It may not take long before you outgrow this tablet, but it’s a very affordable way to get started.
06. Wacom Cintiq 16
Wacom's refreshed entry-level tablet is a winner
Active drawing area: 16.6 x 11.2in | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: Micro USB, Bluetooth | OS: Windows or macOS
While not as affordable as some of its rivals from XP-Pen and Huion, the Cintiq 16 Creative Pen Display – Wacom's 2019 entry-level tablet – is still much more attractively priced than many of its expert-oriented siblings. In the entry-level market it also has a trick up its sleeve in the form of the Pro Pen 2 stylus, which tops out at 8,192 levels of sensitivity, beating many similarly priced tablets.
In our Wacom Cintiq 16 review we found a lot to like about this device, especially its gorgeous display that shows off all the hallmarks of Wacom quality. It's really encouraging to see Wacom entering the new-user space, with a price point to match, and the Cintiq 16 is a welcome example of a Wacom tablet that doesn't require absolute fistfuls of cash to acquire. This is a fantastic entry point for any designer.
07. XP-Pen Deco 03
An ultra-slim drawing tablet with a large working area and smooth pen
Active drawing area: 10 x 5.62in | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: USB-C, wireless (with USB dongle) | OS: Windows or macOS
XP-Pen's Deco tablets blend style with functionality, and the Deco 03 is no exception. This matt black, ultra-sleek model doesn't only look good, but also feels good to use, thanks to its well-made pen and generous drawing area. It's well-designed in a workflow sense too, with customisable Express keys and a multi-functional dial in the top corner that allows you to set things up exactly how you want them, so you can spend less time fiddling and more time drawing. Drawbacks? Well, you could be justified in worrying that at 8mm, the Deco 03 is a little too slim, to the point where a moment's carelessness might cause damage to it. If that doesn't worry you, this is a great buy for a good price.
08. Huion H640P
The best compact drawing tablet out there
Active drawing area: 6.3 x 3.9in | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: USB | OS: Windows or macOS
The second Huion drawing tablet on our list is the H640P, which boasts a comfortable drawing experience in a convenient size for travel. If you work between studios or like to draw from a laptop on the move, you’ll need a drawing tablet like this that packs away handily – but still lets you draw with expression. The Huion H640P measures just 10.2 x 5.8 inches and is no thicker than a smartphone, but offers a set of shortcut keys as well as its drawing area.
The best tablet PC for drawing
09. Wacom MobileStudio Pro 13
A Wacom with Windows inside? Yes please
Active drawing area: 11.6 x 6.5in | Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440 | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: 3 x USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | OS: Windows 10 | Requires: Windows or macOS (with optional Wacom Link)
If you have the budget, the MobileStudio offers everything you could want in a drawing tablet. With a choice of Intel Core processors and solid-state drive storage capacities, it’s a fully fledged Windows computer. But it also benefits from the same technology Wacom brings to its Cintiq pen display range, making the MobileStudio a pleasure to draw with. And if you want, you can even tether it to the more powerful PC or Mac in your studio with the optional Wacom Link. A 16in MobileStudio is also available.
Also read: Wacom MobileStudio Pro review
The best Windows tablet for drawing
10. Microsoft Surface Book 2
The ultimate in Windows computing versatility
Active drawing area: 11.25 x 7.5in: | Resolution: 3,000 x 2,000 | Pen pressure sensitivity: 4,096 levels (with optional Surface Pen) | Connections: 2 x USB 3.0, USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | OS: Windows 10 Pro
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The Surface Book 2 delivers true versatility for the designer on the go. You can use it as a regular laptop, then twist the screen to turn it into a flat tablet with a touch-sensitive screen. For drawing, you need to add the optional Surface Pen, which provides a respectable 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. You don’t get the deep drawing experience of the Wacom MobileStudio, but you do get a device that keeps up with your needs wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.
Also read: Microsoft Surface Book 2 review
The best iOS tablet for drawing
11. Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
A super tablet for drawing, but the stylus costs extra
Active drawing area: 10.32 x 7.74in | Resolution: 2,732 x 2,048 | Pen pressure sensitivity: Not specified (with optional Apple Pencil) | Connections: Lightning, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | OS: iOS 12, upgradable to iOS 12.1
The latest in Apple’s series of high-performance tablets, the iPad Pro 12.9 offers a significant performance upgrade over its predecessor, as well as a reduced bezel (screen-to-edge distance) and the removal of the home button – the device is practically all screen. That luxurious LCD Liquid Retina, True Tone screen offers ‘Xbox One S-level graphics’, making it a beautiful surface on which to draw your projects, a process that has become easier than ever thanks to the reworked Apple Pencil 2 released alongside the tablet. The Pencil now offers magnetic docking and new workflow-improving shortcuts, such as double-tapping to switch modes. The new internal processors also mean the iPad Pro is faster than ever before, and even the high-storage versions offer fast read/write speeds for smooth file transfers.
The best Android tablet for drawing
12. Samsung Galaxy Tab S4
An Android-powered all-rounder, with stylus included
Active drawing area: 7.65 x 5.04in | Resolution: 2,560 x 1,600 | Pen pressure sensitivity: 4,096 levels | Connections: USB-C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | OS: Android 8.0
It's always a treat when you don't have to pay extra for the stylus, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 comes with its pen already in the box – an extremely welcome touch, especially given that this is the most expensive Android tablet yet, at a price on par with the iPad Pro. Despite this, it's still the better buy compared to the more recently released S5e, which, although cheaper, does not offer pen support. Just as with Samsung's previous tablets, the drawing experience is smooth and satisfying; you'll find yourself gliding away in no time. There is a decent range of drawing apps and programs available for Android as well, though iOS still has the slight edge in this regard. Samsung's Dex software, designed to emulate a computer desktop, means the tablet is also useful for general productivity. A great all-purpose option, albeit an expensive one.
13. GAOMON PD1560 15.6 Drawing Tablet
A beautiful beast of a tablet, feature-rich but not particularly portable
Active drawing area: 13.5 x 7.6in | Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 | Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels | Connections: USB | OS: Windows or macOS
It's hard to know what's more exciting about the GAOMON PD1560, the gloriously large 16:9 drawing surface or the intelligent pen with 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity. If you can't think of a better way to spend a day than holed up in the studio creating gorgeous digital paintings then this is a terrific buy. It's easy to set up just the way you want it, with 10 shortcut keys that can be customised to streamline your workflow. However, if you like to create on the move then this isn't the one for you, given that it weighs more than 1.5kg and lacks the wireless functionality of some of the sleeker tablets available.
Best Graphics Tablet For Photo Editing
The best drawing tablet accessories
Wacom Pro Pen 3D
A third button may not sound much of an innovation, but it enables the Pro Pen 3D to support pan and zoom in three dimensions, giving 3D artists unfettered navigation at their fingertips.
Wacom Inking Pen
For that traditional feel, the Inking Pen enables you to place a sheet of paper on your Wacom tablet then draw onto it with ink, while the tablet captures your drawing movements at the same time. The Inking Pen is only for Intuos tablets: it can damage the screen on Cintiqs and MobileStudios.
Adonit Jot Pro
If the Apple Pencil doesn’t appeal or your iPad isn’t compatible, this stylish pen works on any iPad (or Android tablet). The nib, combining a fine-point tip with a plastic circle to register on the tablet screen, looks curious but works well in practice.
What are the different types of drawing tablet?
Broadly speaking, there are three main types of drawing tablet. Each takes a different approach to the central challenge of helping you draw on your Windows PC or Mac as if you were drawing on paper.
Graphics tablets
The traditional drawing tablet features a flat, featureless surface that you draw on with a stylus, with the image displayed on a computer monitor. Graphics tablets remain the most affordable drawing tablet category. Their main disadvantage is the sense of ‘disconnect’ between the drawing surface and the screen, although most people get used to this quickly.Jump to the best graphics tablets
Pen displays
Pen displays consists of a flat-screen monitor with a pressure-sensitive surface that you draw on with a stylus. They don't have the sense of disconnect experienced with graphics tablets, are more portable and cost more. However, you get a lot of cables between the display and computer, and the display surfaces don’t offer the ‘bite’ that graphics tablets do. Jump to the best pen display tablets
Tablet computers
Android and iOS devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab and iPad Pro take on the other drawing tablets in two ways. You don't need another computer: just download an art app and start drawing with your fingertip or a stylus. Also, when you want to use the Creative Cloud suite on your main computer, these can function as graphics tablets with apps like Astropad. Jump to the best tablet computers
Need a recap? Here are the best drawing tablets, graphics tablets and tablet computers of 2018...
Today’s best drawing tablet prices
Best Tablets For Graphic Design
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