Applications
Applications that come with a drawing tablet
Most drawing tablets come with a limited-time trial license to some applications. Usually these trials last anywhere from 3 to 6 months. After this time, you'll have to pay for the app. Some are subscription and some are one-time-purchases.
Applications and how they work with pens
pen-aware apps - these apps know about pens, pressure, tilt, etc. and can take advantage of those features
other apps - these apps don't know about pens. So when you use a pen with them, the application treats them just like a mouse. In fact the app has no idea you are using a pen. The pen will work for basic tasks. For example the pen can move the operating system pointer, you can press down with the pen to draw or click, the buttons may work. However, the app won't do anything special with pen capabilities like tilt, or pressure sensitivity.
Recommendations
If you are interested in the apps I use and personally recommend: recommended apps
Pen-aware applications
Creative 2D
ArtRage (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android)
Aggie.io - https://aggie.io (web)
Clip Studio Paint (Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS)
Adobe Fresco (Windows, iOS, MacOS)
Firealpaca (Windows, MacOS)
HiPaint (Android, iOS)
Ibis Paint (Windows, iOS, Android)
Infinite Design https://www.infinitestudio.art/ (Android)
Infinite Painter (Android, iOS)
Kleki (web) FREE
Krita (Windows, Linux, MacOS) FREE
Leonardo - https://www.getleonardo.com/ (Windows)
Magma - https://magma.com/ (web)
Medibang Paint (Windows, MacOS)
Medibang Pro (iOS)
Paint Tool Sai (Windows)
Painter (Windows, MacOS)
Paintstorm Studio (Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux)
pixilart - https://www.pixilart.com/ (web)
Procreate (iOS)
Rebelle (Windows, MacOS)
Sketching
Concepts (Windows, Android, iOS, ChromeOS)
Sketchbook Pro (MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS)
Vector
Affinity Designer (Windows, MacOS)
Adobe Illustrator (Windows, MacOS)
Inkscape (Windows, MacOS, Linux) FREE
VectorInk (Online, Android) (Google app link)
3D
Autodesk Maya
Blender (Linux, MacOS, Windows, BSD) FREE
Spline - https://spline.design/ - (web)
https://voxelcanvas.me/ - (web)
Photo editing
Adobe Photoshop (Windows, MacOS)
Affinity Photo
Photopea - https://www.photopea.com/ (web)
Note-taking
Microsoft OneNote (Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS)
Samsung Notes (select Samsung PCs and tablets)
Noteshelf (iOS)
Whiteboarding
Microsoft Whiteboard (Windows, iOS, iPadOS, Android) FREE
Freeform (iOS, iPadOS, MacOS)
Roundups & reviews
Teoh on Tech - Best drawing apps for Windows tablets June 3, 2003
Teoh on Tech - Best Drawing Apps for Android Tablets Sept 18, 2021
Brad Colbow - Ranking Every Drawing App (2022) Jan 12, 2022
Last updated