The Best Drawing Tablets To Unleash Your Creative Side

Work surface: 12.1 x 8.4 inches | Battery powered: Yes | Supported OS: Windows, Mac | Pressure sensitivity levels: 8,192 | Dimensions: 16.8 x 11.2 x 0.3 inches | Weight: 2.9 pounds

Pros:

• Generous writing/drawing space
• 8,000+ pressure sensitivity levels
• Good palm rejection

Cons:

• Stylus nibs need frequent replacement
• Sluggish Bluetooth connectivity

The Wacom PTH860 Intuos Pro is a versatile and slim pen-based drawing tablet. It has a large 12-inch active surface and customizable ExpressKeys for one-touch access to common actions and a battery-free stylus pen. The Intuos Pro works with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects and other applications so you can work across multiple programs to complete major drawing projects. It provides comfortable, near lag-free operation, too.

The tablet comes with the Wacom Pro Pen 2, although it also works with the optional Wacom Airbrush Pen, too. That said, we felt that the Pen Pro 2 was an absolute dream to hold. Both it and the tablet feel sturdy in hand—whether it’s positioned on your desk or your lap. During testing, we also felt the display was large enough to easily capture detail but didn’t feel heavy. You can also use it wired or with built-in Bluetooth for a wire-free setup, if you prefer.

Work surface: 23.8-inch, 2,560 x 1,440-pixel display | Supported OS: Windows, Mac | Pressure sensitivity levels: 8,192 | Dimensions: 24.9 x 14.6 x 1.8 inches | Weight: 15.5 pounds

Pros:

• Large, color accurate 2K display
• Excellent drawing/writing accuracy
• 20 customizable shortcut keys, two dial wheels

Cons:

• Heavy

The XP-Pen Artist Display 24 Pro is an expensive drawing tablet aimed at serious designers looking for a tremendous digital drawing canvas. It has a 23.8-inch, 2,560 x 1,440-pixel display with support for 90% of the Adobe RGB color gamut. The 2K display sets this model apart from others drawing tablets with screens. It enables attention to detail that’s not possible on mere 1080p displays, and it’s large enough to provide an expansive work surface. It also connects to your computer via a USB-C cable.

Flanking the display are 20 customizable shortcut keys and two red dial wheels to give greater control over app-based features like zooming. The XP-Pen is compatible with all the popular applications (including Adobe Photoshop and CAD tools). It includes a battery-free, PA2 stylus which supports up to 60 degrees of tilt. This tablet has an adjustable stand that allows it to be used on any flat surface or tilted to the optimal angle for viewing and drawing.

Work surface: 10.3 x 5.8 inches | Battery powered: Yes | Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Linux | Pressure sensitivity levels: 8192 | Dimensions: 12.6 x 9.1 x 0.3 inches | Weight: 1.5 pounds

Pros:

• Includes useful Quick Keys remote
• Active area has 16:9 aspect ratio
• Two pens included

Cons:

• No tilted stand

If you don’t want to bother with choosing your drawing tablet a la carte, the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Bundle SE (Medium) comes with everything you need to get started. The popular Xencelabs medium drawing tablet itself remains a popular option with a non-slip 12-inch display and 16:9 active area. We loved the slightly curved slope that makes for a far more comfortable experience than other tablets, enabling hours of use without getting tired. Now the tablet comes available in a Special Edition Nebula White colorway for a fresh take on the original. 

In this convenient bundle, you receive both a thick and thin stylus boasting 8192 pressure levels for a smooth performance. The difference in diameter helps ensure you can find exactly the right lines for your design. We found it especially helpful when switching from sketching to writing notes. The accompanying Quick Keys comes armed with up to 40 customizable options and a Physical Dial is accented by LED lighting, a nice touch we appreciated. The Xencelabs Pen Tablet uses a 3,000mAh battery that can last up to 16 hours when used wirelessly. Connectivity is a breeze, working with any PC, Mac or Linux system wirelessly via an RF dongle or with a wired USB cable.

Work Surface: 23.8-inch, 3,840 x 2,160-pixel display | Battery powered: Yes | Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Android | Pressure sensitivity levels: 8,192 | Dimensions: 23.2 x 14.3 x 0.9 inches | Weight: 13.9 pounds

Pros:

• 4K UHD resolution display
• Display offers anti-glare surface

Cons:

• No shortcut keys built-in
• Adjustable stand sold separately
• Expensive

The Huion Kamvas Pro 24 4K provides a 23.8-inch display with 4K UHD resolution and HDR support. There’s a work area measuring 20.7 by 11.7 inches; this oversized creative space allows you to see and interact with your work clearly, even when crafting the most minute details. It offers a 178-degree viewing angle and 140% of the sRGB color gamut, allowing you to manipulate over 1.07 billion colors. The result is terrific color accuracy and detail on a large, anti-glare display.

This drawing tablet works with the company’s latest PenTech 3.0 stylus, which offers 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and up to 60-degree tilt support. It includes a built-in stand for one position, but adjustable options are sold separately. The tablet offers USB-C connectivity to a Windows PC, Mac or Android device.

Work Surface: 10 x 6.2 inches | Supported OS: Windows, Mac, Android | Pressure sensitivity levels: 8,192 | Dimensions: 14.2 x 9.5 x 0.4 inches | Weight: 1.7 pounds

Pros:

• Affordable
• Has 12 hard and 16 soft express keys
• Stylus doesn’t require a battery

Cons:

• Uses a micro-USB cable connection (not USB-C)

If you’ve never used a graphics tablet and you’re not sure if one of these devices can improve your workflow, try experimenting using this inexpensive device—and yes, that’s the price for both the tablet and stylus. The Huion Inspiroy H1060P makes feature compromises to achieve its low price, but it’s a great way to test the waters and see if a drawing tablet is right for you. It has a 10 x 6.2 active area—large and functional enough to get the job done for drawings, signatures or sketches. It offers four programmable buttons on the top of the work area, and the included battery-free stylus has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

In addition to working with a wide range of Windows PC and Mac applications, the device pairs with many Android mobile devices, too. It connects via a micro-USB cable. Also built into the tablet are 12 hard and 16 soft express keys for added convenience.

Work surface: 11-inches, 2,388 x 1,668-pixel touchscreen display | Battery powered: Yes | OS: iPadOS | Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.0 x 0.2 inches | Weight: 1 pound

Pros:

• Vast assortment of optional stylus-compatible apps
• Full-featured productivity tablet
• 10-hour battery life

Cons:

• Expensive path to drawing
• Apple Pencil 2 stylus sold separately

The 11-inch iPad Pro (2024) is a multipurpose tablet with a plethora of drawing and artist apps available. When you pair it with the Apple Pencil 2 (sold separately for $129) and the right apps, it serves as a standalone drawing tablet with precise stylus control for handwriting, drawing, painting, illustrating and more. You can then save your work and transfer it to any other computer or iPhone. If you use a Mac and Apple’s Continuity feature, you can connect the iPad to your Mac and use the Apple Pencil to annotate on your Mac, too.

The iPad versions of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop offer full compatibility with their computer counterparts. This configuration includes 256GB of storage, and you can also take advantage of cloud storage, too.

Work surface: 14.4-inch, 2,400 x 1,600-pixel touchscreen display | Battery powered: Yes | OS: Windows 11 | Dimensions: 12.7 x 9.0 x 0.7 inches | Weight: 4.4 pounds

Pros:

• Beautiful 14.4-inch touchscreen display
• Transitions easily from a full-featured laptop computer to a tablet
• Lightweight and easy to transport

Cons:

• Just three fixed viewing positions
• Much more expensive than standalone drawing tablet

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