On your computer, expressing your creativity has never been easier. You can paint or draw effectively into a digitally native platform using a tablet and a digital pen. There are a variety of excellent drawing tablets available, ranging from specialized devices for experts and enthusiasts to multifunctional devices for everyday use with artistic applications. These are the greatest drawing tablets, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist looking for a new device.
| Best Overall | Wacom Cintiq 16 Drawing Tablet |
| Best XLarge | XP-PEN Artist24 Pro |
| Best for Experts | Wacom Intuos Pro Large |
| Best for Kids | Boogie Board Play and Trace LCD Writing Tablet |
| Best for Newbies | iPad Air 4 |
| Best for Sketching and Note-Taking | Surface Pro 8 |
| Best Cheap | Huion Inspiroy Dial Q620M |
| Best E-Paper Tablet for Drawing | reMarkable 2 |
What criteria did we use to choose the best drawing tablets?
I’ve reviewed technology, including tablets, for publications such as Popular Mechanics, Tom’s Guide, The Daily Beast, Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy, and Bob Vila as a freelance technology reviewer for over ten years. Three of the products on this list were tested by me, while the rest were chosen based on thorough research, interactions with artists, and user evaluations.
Reviews and Recommendations For The Best Drawing Tablets 2022
Now that you’ve learned the concepts, it’s time to shop for the greatest drawing tablet for you. Unlike similar rankings from other publications, our list of the best tablets provides a more comprehensive approach. We’ve chosen some everyday tablets that enable digital pens and offer good visual art applications, to elaborate slates for professionals from firms like Wacom and Huion. A dedicated drawing tablet is not required for everyone who wishes to draw on a tablet.
1. Wacom DTK1660K0A Cintiq 16 Drawing Tablet
For most individuals, from beginners to seasoned pros, the Wacom Tablet Cintiq 16 is the best drawing tablet 2022. The 15.6-inch glass display features a huge active surface of 13.6 by 8.6 inches, allowing for creative, lag-free drawing. It has an anti-glare covering that reduces distracting reflections and adds friction to help imitate the sense of drawing on paper. The express keys are tucked away on the tablet’s back edge, saving vital screen real estate. The tablet includes flexible legs that can provide up to a 19-degree slope and connect to your pc using an HDMI cable, which produces greater video quality than a USB wire.
The battery-free, cordless pen on the Wacom Cintiq 16 is lighter in weight, pressure-sensitive, and also has a natural feel to it, just like a conventional pen. It can also be tilted to a maximum of 60 degrees. The tablet also provides some software-assisted assistance, with anti-jitter technology ensuring clean lines. The Cintiq 16 is a well-rounded drawing tablet for enthusiasts and professionals, thanks to its adaptable pen and high-quality surface.
Pros
- Display with high resolution
- The Wacom Pro Pen 2
- Scratch-resistant
- Legs that fold
Cons
- Pricey
2. XP-PEN Artist24 Pro Graphic Tablet
If you need a lot of drawing space, the 23.8-inch XP-PEN Artist 24 Pro gives plenty of it. The 2K QHD display brings your creations to life in vibrant color, allowing you to see even the tiny things. It’s designed for ease of use: The graphic tablet’s stand is flexible and can tilt up to 60 degrees, allowing you to find your ideal viewing angle. It also works for both right and left-handed artists, featuring knobs and shortcut keys along both sides of the tablet for versatile access.
In any case, all 20 shortcut keys are configurable, allowing you to tailor the tablet to your own needs. The XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro includes a battery-free stylus with 8192 levels of pressure sensibility and a 60-degree tilt for the most delicate digital drawing experience.
It should be noted, meanwhile, that at 15.43 pounds, this is exclusively an in-office/studio gadget.
Pros
- Display resolution of 2K Quad HD
- Designed for both righties and lefties
- Battery-free sensitive pen
Cons
- Bulky
- Pricey
3. Wacom PTH860 Intuos Pro
Wacom Tablet is well-liked by creative professionals and for good reason. The company has been in the digital pen technology business for over 35 years, and its products are utilized by everyone including fashion designers to animators and filmmakers. The Wacom Intuos Pro tablet is surprisingly thin and light, measuring 16.8 by 11.2 inches and weighing only 2.86 pounds. The black anodized aluminum and fiberglass composite resin, on the other hand, makes it a strong alternative. The Wacom Pro Pen 2 is a battery-free pressure-sensitive pen that tilts 60 degrees. A pen stand is also supplied to maintain the stylus safe and out of the way while not in use.
The Wacom Intuos Pro is a drawing tablet with no screen. It can be wired or wirelessly connected to your Mac or Windows PC. You can simply scroll, zoom, and navigate your art with the tablet’s multi-touch capability. (If touch-based gestures are disrupting your workflow, you can disable them.)
A more expensive “paper edition” Intuos Pro, which adds the ability to turn sheet drawings inked with a stylus pen into a digital image, is also available for genuine traditionalists. May seem like a waste of effort to draw on paper instead of on your tablet, but for some artists, it can make a huge difference.
Pros
- Bluetooth compatibility
- Pen has a pressure range of 8192 levels.
- The technology of multitouch
- Touchring
Cons
- Challenging to learn for new users
4. Boogie Board Play and Trace LCD Writing Tablet
The Boogie Board Play and Trace LCD Writing Tablet is an excellent way to get your children interested in drawing and writing. The battery-powered 13.5 by 9 tablet has a wide, semi-transparent best drawing tablet with a screen for beginners that allows your child to trace or draw freehand on their favorite image.
Templates for teaching the fundamentals of writing and drawing are included with the Play and Trace. It comes with a stylus, but youngsters can also use pencils, markers, and even their fingernails on the tablet without harming it. It’s also light enough for even small children to handle and operate on their own, weighing only 13.6 ounces. The’s crucial because you never know where that stylus will end up once your child has it.
Pros
- Affordable
- Robust
- Simple to remove
- Powered by a battery
Cons
- The stylus is not tethered.
5. Apple iPad Air
The iPad is probably the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the term “tablet.” While it isn’t designed for drawing, combining it with a stylus, particularly the Apple Pencil 2, transforms it into a fairly complex and adaptable tool for creating digital art. Our favorite tablet is the 10.9-inch iPad Air 4. It boasts an edge-to-edge liquid retina display that is virtually edgeless and produces true-to-life visuals. Its A14 Bionic system-on-a-chip is strong enough to make drawings and other functions, like video filming and editing, and file sharing, quick and straightforward. It’s also much lighter to carry about at 1lb than other drawing tablets.
The iPad’s main shortcoming, particularly as a sketching tablet, is that it does not come with a stylus. That keeps the iPad’s price low and allows you to buy one on the inexpensive, but budding artists will want to spend the extra $129.99 on the Apple Pencil 2, which makes precise lines, has a range of smart features, and even connects magnetically to the side.
Pros
- Camera
- Display with a liquid retina
- Touch ID
Cons
- Pricey
- It does not include a stylus.
6. Surface Pro 8 13″ (2880×1920) Touchscreen Tablet
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 best drawing tablet with a screen is designed to multitask. The 13-inch touchscreen tablet includes a slew of capabilities, including Dolby Vision, automated color and brightness sensors, and Iris X graphics, which provide plenty of tools and capability to transition between sketching and taking notes without missing a beat. This is the only gadget on this list that can operate as a laptop replacement, thanks to its excellent specifications and Windows 11 operating system.
The Surface, like the iPad, isn’t a specialized drawing tablet, thus it doesn’t come with a stylus. The Surface Slim Pen 2 from Microsoft, on the other hand, is an excellent new pen to go with it. The $129.99 Surface pen detects pressure at 4096 levels and generates tactile feedback, imitating the sensation of applying a pencil to paper.
Pros
- Recognition of faces
- Tablet with several functions
- Pressure sensitivity has 4096 levels.
Cons
- Extremely costly
- Surface Slim Pen 2 is available separately.
7. HUION Inspiroy Dial Q620M Wireless Graphics Drawing Tablet
If you’re looking for a low-cost drawing tablet, the Huion Inspiroy Dial Q620M Drawing Tablet offers a lot of versatility for the price. The graphics (display-free) tablet can wirelessly connect to both Windows and Android devices, and the wifi receiver can keep a charge for up to 20 hours, making it easy and trouble-free. The anti-sweat tablet surface is scratch- and fingerprint-resistant, with a frosted matte appearance that simulates drawing on paper.
The 3.13-pound Huion Drawing Tablet contains a dial controller as well as eight customizable hotkeys. The battery-free pen comes with a pen holder and features a 60-degree tilt for precise drawing. A little quibble: the tablet is compatible with Microsoft, macOS, and Android, but not with iOS.
Pros
- Affordable
- Connectivity via wireless
- 8192 pressure sensitivity levels
Cons
- It does not work with the iPhone or iPad.
The reMarkable 2 is the way to go if you’re searching for a black-and-white, paper-style experience. The tablet has a unique 10.3-inch “Canvas” display that mimics the look and feels of reading and writing on-page. It integrates remarkably effectively into your digital life, converting articles from the web to a more focused, book-like form, translating handwritten notes into texts, and sharing your tablet screen via a desktop or laptop, although it feels like a totally another universe. Built-in templates and layers make it simple for artists to get started drawing, and there are paintbrushes and tools to meet any project. The Marker, ReMarkable’s patented stylus, has a high-friction pen tip and does not require charging.
While it’s amazing in many aspects, it’s worth noting that a paper-style tablet is an option, however, it has limited usefulness when compared to the iPad or Surface devices on this list. But if you’re prepared to put in the effort, it’s amazing at what it does.
Pros
- It can function as a digital whiteboard.
- Undo, erase, and move functions are available.
- (.19″) ultra-thin
- Marker is not required to charge.
Cons
- Pricey
- If used at night, there is no backlight.
- For Google and Dropbox support, a subscription is necessary.
What to Look For When Buying the Best Drawing Tablet 2022
A drawing tablet is a tool, not a toy, for the majority of people. The finest drawing tablet for you will be determined by your needs as an artist. Because those requirements may not be met by tablet specifications, here’s a quick primer on the most critical aspects of the gadget. These are the areas in which the best drawing tablets 2022 will shine.
The Surface For Drawing
A larger tablet, whether at home or in the studio, gives you more space for those broad strokes and makes it simpler to see what you’re doing. For some, though, a tiny, lighter tablet that is easier to transport may be preferable. Larger tablets are more expensive in general, so your options may be restricted by your budget.
Pen/Stylus
A digital pen, sometimes known as a stylus, is included with most drawing tablets. While all styluses are digital pens, not all digital pens are styluses: A digital pen, in general, is a pen that works with a specific device or group of devices to provide differential pressure sensitivity and onscreen buttons. Because most tablets come with a pen by default and there are just a few upgrade options, selecting one that feels appropriate is just as crucial as finding the ideal tablet.
In an ideal world, your digital pen is easy to hold and enables smooth strokes. Its capacity to imitate multiple kinds of marks made with a pen or pencil is mostly determined by its sensitivity, which is quantified in pressure levels. Even light pen strokes are picked up by a pen with great pressure sensitivity, making it simple to produce varied colors and shapes without the use of digital augmentation. The majority of professional drawing tablets now include styluses with 8192 pressure levels. 4096 levels are available on certain less cost drafting tablets, including multi-functional gadgets such as the Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2. In a similar vein, many professional tablet pens have a “60-degree tilt,” which enables you to push it down on the pen tip from a variety of angles, giving you a far larger range of markings and reducing frustration.
Tablets and Pen’s Battery Life
Battery life may be an issue depending on your tablet. While many specific drawing tablets are powered by plugging them into a computer, some are wireless and may require charging in the middle of a project, especially if you use them for taking notes, viewing videos, and other tasks.
Some pens don’t need to be charged, whereas others need. When connected to a tablet, digital pens for traditional tablets, such as the Apple Pencil 2, draw electricity. Wacom Tablet (and, more recently, others) make battery-free digital pens that accomplish subtle pressure sensitivity by emitting a magnetic field from the pen tip. While the term “battery-free” may be misleading in some circumstances, many of them still require electricity from their tablets to operate buttons and other devices.
When deciding whether to choose a drawing tablet with a battery or not, consider the fact that batteries are more convenient. A single charge can last up to two months in some pens, but you must ensure to charge the pen. A battery-free pen (such as Wacom’s) is particularly convenient because it does not demand batteries or charging… Until it no longer works. When changing the batteries solves the majority of problems with a battery-operated pen, a battery-free pen may require you to go through the company’s seemingly unending list of troubleshooting steps to discover out what’s wrong.
Connectivity
When you’re ready, you’ll need to connect your tablet to a PC to edit and/or share your work, regardless of which tablet you have. You can attach your tablet to a pc without an adapter via a USB-C to USB-C cable connection, which is faster and more secure. To deliver a better video image, several high-end tablets employ HDMI rather than USB. Some individuals prefer the cordless ease of WiFi, but it comes with its own set of drawbacks, such as the requirement for a robust network connection.
The Adjustable Stand
Before initiating an art project, place your tablet in the proper position, just as you would a sketching pad on an easel. Having an adjustable framework or stand, whether built-in or removable, helps you to tilt the screen to the optimal angle for drawing comfortably.
FAQs
Is there a difference between a drawing tablet and a standard tablet?
No, the phrase drawing tablet often refers to devices designed expressly for digital art creation. They often provide more precise pen control using a more sensitive stylus and support specialized software such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk 3ds Max, CorelDraw/Corel Painter, and AutoCAD. Some “ordinary” tablets, such as the iPad Air 4 and Surface Pro 8, can be used as best drawing tablets for beginners, but many experts and amateurs prefer to use these more specialized devices.
Is it possible to use a drawing tablet without a computer?
To function correctly, most reputable drawing tablets must be connected to a PC. When drawing on a standalone tablet, however, it is beneficial to utilize a desktop with a large monitor. To view what you’re doing on graphics tablets that don’t have a display, you’ll need to use the computer’s monitor. Including devices with displays, a monitor allows you to examine your work more carefully.
What is the price of a nice drawing tablet?
The cost of a good drawing tablet will vary depending on what you consider “good,” but as a general rule, the best budget drawing tablet with screen 2022 at least $400 for a hobby- or professional-grade drawing tablet with HD resolution, vibrant colors, folding legs, or an adjustable stand, and a stylus with significant levels of pressure sensitivity.
Last Remark
There is a drawing tablet to suit your needs, whether you are a professional artist or just starting. The best drawing tablet 2022 Wacom 16 Cintiq Drawing tablet is hard to match because it includes the majority of the capabilities that both aspiring and seasoned artists seek. That being said, each tablet on our list was chosen to assist a distinct subset of artists, ranging from those looking for the cheapest tablet that truly works to high-end tablets for professionals to versatile tablets for novices who need to doodle and take notes by hand. Because drawing tablets are specialized pieces of equipment, they can appear intimidating, yet everyone’s needs are valid.