2025 Drawing tablet tier list

To see the previous tier list: 2024 Drawing tablet tier list

Notes

On November 12, 2025, during a livestream as a community we created a new drawing tablet tier list.

Unlike last year

• In addition to pen tablets and pen displays, we also ranked standalone tablets, and pens

• Instead of 1 single tier list, we created one for each category

• Instead of using a pre-built tier maker, we used a vibe coded one built in 3 hours using Google AI Studio.

Livestream

Livestream vs this page

As always, as I learn more and get feedback I update the tier lists shown on this page.

Tiering strategy

• COST does not affect the tier

• TIERING and RECOMMENDATIONS are based on overall DRAWING EXPERIENCE

• Some tablets might be not recommended (for drawing), but they might work well for note-taking, whiteboarding, etc. - tasks that are not about creative drawing/painting.

• Pens are the primary determinant of how pressure works for a tablet (IAF, MAX PRESSURE, PRESSURE RANGE). So it is always important to understand the included pen for tablet.

• UD-EMR pens offer OK performance. So tablets with UD EMR pens TEND to be the C tier.

Tier definitions

Pen tablets

Pen displays

Standalone

Pens