The best drawing tablets combine the fluidity and versatility of freehand drawing with the precision of digital graphics. You need a tablet with the right stylus, pressure sensitivity, multi-touch display, screen size, low latency and other specs to make your drawing experience as effortless as possible. We’ve chosen the most popular and well-reviewed models, both for specialized drawing tablets and all-around excellent tablets that support drawing apps.
Best overall
Wacom One Digital Drawing Tablet with Screen
Staff Pick
Here’s the perfect solution for budding artists. Although it’s not quite as large and impressive as some professional options, the Wacom One model is a simplified version of an advanced drawing monitor that lets you draw directly on the screen. This is a great starter tablet for beginners.
$400 at Amazon$400 at Walmart$400 at B&H
Upgrade Pick
Wacom Cintiq 22 Drawing Tablet
Not for the faint of pen, this is the best drawing tablet if your budget can stomach it: it’s big, precise, and pricey. The top-of-the-line Wacom Cintiq is a 22-inch powerhouse of HD graphic creation. The big monitor offers gorgeous graphics alongside 8,192 pen pressure levels for the most intuitive, responsive digital drawing experience on the market.
$1,200 at Amazon$1,200 at Best Buy$1,200 at B&H
Best value
Huion OSU Graphics Drawing Tablet
Aching to start drawing but low on budget? You’ll want to consider downsizing to a Huion. This one is smaller and more basic than other tablets, but fulfills most drawing needs of a designer or illustrator. This works with Android devices as well as computers.
$24 at Amazon$47 at Newegg
Upgraded value
Huion Inspiroy H640P
If the Huion H430P is a bit too simple for you, try a step up and go with the H640P. This one is a bit larger with more pen sensitivity, as well as a range of shortcut buttons that are not featured on other models.
$40 at Amazon$45 at Newegg$50 at B&H
Simple quality
Wacom Intuos Pro
If you love the quality of a Wacom but don’t want to break the bank with a drawing monitor, the Wacom Intuos Pro is a nice in-between. The classic drawing tablet provides excellent precision and sensitivity and can be used with any computer to create instant graphics.
$380 at Amazon$380 at B&H$400 at Newegg
Best midline drawing monitor
XP-PEN IPS Drawing Monitor
If you’d like a larger drawing monitor at a more affordable price point, the XP-PEN is an excellent alternative to the Wacom Cintiq. The 15.6-inch monitor is large enough to display impressive HD graphics, and with 8,192 levels of pen sensitivity, it is precise enough to produce outstanding illustrations.
$300 at Amazon$350 at Walmart$350 at Newegg
Bells & whistles
Parblo Coast10 LCD Drawing Tablet
For those that appreciate a good package deal, you’ll love the Parblo line of drawing tablets. Not only do these tablets come with an ultra-sensitive LCD monitor for precision graphics, they also come with lots of handy accessories. This one includes a wool carry case, a four-port USB hub, a two-finger digital drawing glove, and a protective sleeve for the included stylus.
$180 at Amazon
Minimal latency
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
With a 12.4-inch AMOLED display with 2800×1752 resolution, your digital sketches will look gorgeous on the screen. Even better, the S Pen stylus only has 9ms of latency, which combined with the 120Hz refresh rate means your drawings will appear near-instantaneously when the S Pen nib touches the laminated screen.
$930 at Amazon
$930 at Best Buy
$930 at B&H
For Apple geeks
Apple iPad Pro
Of course, Apple lovers will want to stick with their tried-and-true iPad. The iPad Pro paired with an Apple Pencil 2 makes for a pretty nifty drawing tablet. For design and illustration purposes, we suggest the 12.9-inch edition.
$1,099 at Apple$1,099 at Amazon$1,000 at Newegg
Laptop + tablet combo
Microsoft Surface Book 3
Microsoft is not to be outdoodled. Its Surface Book is much more than a drawing tablet, however. The vibrant 13.5-inch monitor can be used with a Surface Pen and any graphics program to create beautiful illustrations, and it can also be attached to a laptop keyboard to be used as a fully functional Windows PC computer.
$1,600 at Microsoft$1,449 at Amazon$1,600 at B&H
Draw on with these great drawing tablets
The best drawing tablets for one reader will differ from the next, depending on your seriousness as an artist, your budget, and whether or not you’ll want to use it for non-artistic purposes.
For a dedicated tablet for doodling or professional art, Wacom is a reliable brand to being your search. The Wacom One is simple yet intuitive — perfect for beginners and intermediate graphic artists. The stylus doesn’t need to be charged, so no unexpected delays when inspiration strikes, and the surface friction will make the 13.3-inch display feel like a true paper canvas. Professionals, meanwhile, will probably prefer the more robust Wacom Cintiq with a massive 22-inch display, improved pen tech for more accurate pressure sensing, and a wider color gamut. Plus, register either tablet and you’ll get access to free trials of some of the best drawing apps.
If you want to explore your artistic talent but aren’t sure if you want a tablet just for art, we recommend picking one of the best Android tablets, which usually have beautiful displays, accurate styluses and the processing power to easily handle high-end graphic design apps—but are also designed for casual use. We’re impressed by the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 lineup in general, but recommended the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus for the simple reason that the upgrade gives you an extra 1.4 inches of screen space for your sketches.
