Overview

Drawing tablets allow us to intuitively use a digital pen. On this site, I collected all my notes about drawing tablets over the years. If you are looking to buy a tablet, wanting to get help with a problem with your tablet, or just want to understand the technology, then I think you'll find the information you need here.

Popular topics

• - If you are not familiar with drawing tablets, then start here.

• - a comprehensive guide to purchasing a tablet.

• - Recommendations for different budgets and types of tablets

Connect with the community

Consider joining the .

Contact

If you have questions or comments contact me at .

Overview

I love creative tech. I've been using drawing tablets for a long time and wanted share what I learn.

• My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@sevenpens

• My notes on drawing tablets:

• I tweet occasionally:

• I moderate , , ,

• I keep my code on GitHub:

Tablets I own

You can see a complete list of .

Why "Seven Pens"?

When I started my YouTube channel I had seven pens from my drawing tablets. Now I have more than seven pens.

Key resources

• My general take on

How I engage with tablet brands

• I DO NOT ...

  • I DO NOT have any business relationship with tablet manufacturers such as Wacom, Huion, XP-Pen, etc. I'm just an enthusiast.

  • I DO NOT receive tablets from manufacturers. Not gifts. Not review units. Every tablet I have is a personal purchase.

Overview

Pen tablets are the simplest and least expensive kind of drawing tablet. They are often called: "screenless tablets" or "non-screen tablets".

Key characteristics

• They DO NOT have an embedded display

• They REQUIRE A COMPUTER to be used.

• They REQUIRE A MONITOR attached the the computer or that the computer is a laptop.

Using a pen tablet

The fundamental skill required to use a pen tablet is that you must adjust to your hand drawing on one surface (the tablet) while you are looking at another surface (your monitor). Most people can adjust to this immediately or within a few days, but some people find this weird and for them one of the other device options may be a better choice.

Pen tablets cost between $50 to $500.

Overview

Pen displays are drawing tablets that have an embedded display panel. They are also called: "screen tablets", "display tablets".

Key characteristics

• They DO have an embedded display

• They REQUIRE A COMPUTER to be used.

Using a pen display

A pen display may look like a laptop or an iPad which are standalone devices. However unlike those devices:

• A pen display will always have to have at least one cord coming from it that is connected to a computer.

• A pen display does not contain a battery. It must always get power through a cable attached to a power supply or from the computer directly.

Pen displays cost between $300 to $3500.

Overview

These are laptops that have some support for pens to enable drawing. They may or may not have an attached keyboard.

Key characteristics

• Drawing experience is just OK - suitable for whiteboarding, notetaking, light creativity.

• Operating system: Only Windows

Examples

• Microsoft Surface Pro 8

• Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 360

Cost

Pen computers cost between $1000 to $2000.

• Brad Colbow to Use a Drawing Tablet Oct 4, 2022

• Aaron Rutten - How to Use a DRAWING TABLET for Beginners (2022) Sep 11, 2022

This content has been replaced by: Pen display recommendations (LARGE)

I don't use these devices myself. Here are some popular ones.

• Onyx Boox Note Air3

• Remarkable 2

• Amazon Kindle Scribe

Pen tablets

Consumer vs Professional

The first letter to indicates if the tablet is a consumer of professional model. C means consumer. P means professional

• C -> Consumer (example: CTL-472)

• P -> Professional (example: PTH-660)

Active area size

The first digit of the number Indicates the active area size of the tablet

• 4 -> small (example: CTL-472)

• 6 -> medium (example: CTL-6100WL)

• 8 -> large (example: PTH-860)

Overview

Pen computers in form factor are essentially laptops with screens you can draw on. However unless 2-in-1 laptops, pen computers are TRUE drawing tablets. You don't need them to be connected up to a separate computer to work. Because pen computers have a CPU, they are running an operating system and all current pen computers use Microsoft Windows.

The reality of pen computers

Some people love using pen computers, but . Instead, I recommend you choose a mobile computer with pen support.

Origin of term "pen computer"

Wacom uses the term "pen computer" so I've adapted that terminology in my documentation.

Examples

• Wacom Mobile Studio Pro

• Huion Kamvas Studio

Cost

Pen computers cost between $1000 to $3500.

Overview

If you already have a pen tablet (a screenless tablet) and are considering getting a pen display (a screen tablet), there are a few things you should take into account.

A pen display is not necessarily an "upgrade"

Many people mistakenly believe that a pen display is always better than a pen tablet and think of switching to one as an "upgrade." If that's your starting point, I'd ask you to step back and consider that each has its own merits. Many people — including professional artists — PREFER pen tablets to pen displays. More here: .

If it feels "weird" to draw on your pen tablet

One thing I often hear is that people find it feels strange or unnatural to draw on a pen tablet — like their hand isn't drawing what they expect.

Many times, the cause is that the pen tablet hasn't been configured correctly for the monitor's aspect ratio. More here: .

If your tablet is feeling weird, try matching the aspect ratios and give it a few more days. You might find that after this change you enjoy using your pen tablet much more.

This is an updated tier list from the original livestream: https://youtube.com/live/CKki6AEzdzA

To see the next year's tier list: 2025 Drawing tablet tier list

The updated tier has a couple of changes I implemented after talking to some tablet enthusiasts:

• Added Huion Kamvas 16 GEN3 to A tier

• XP-Pen Deco Pro GEN2 moved from S tier to A tier

• Wacom One M and Wacom One S moved to new F tier

• Some cards in the same tier merged for a brand

Overview

Wacom has a lot of consumer products on the market.

Some important notes

• newer does not necessarily mean better

• older does not necessarily mean bad

• You have to pick by the specific model

• Some models have very similar names but are very different. See:

Non-standalone drawing tablets

• Pen tablets (also called "screenless tablets") - Don't have a screen and you have to use them with a computer or laptop. More here:

Overview

These are NOT drawing tablets, but because they are very very similar to pen computers in that they are standalone and you can use a pen to draw with them - we can talk about them as an viable alternative to a pen computer.

But the key difference is a pen computer is intended for drawing, whereas a mobile computer with pen support is meant for general purpose use, but also you can use a pen do draw.

Type of drawing tablet

Any type of drawing tablet works for whiteboarding.

However those drawing tablets with screens (pen displays and standalone devices) do work better in my experience. This is because it just feels more natural to see what your whiteboarding on the screen as you draw.

Wacom

-

Wacom community forums:

To file a support ticket: You can file a support ticket with Wacom at this link:

Summary

Once the tablet drivers are installed, All applications are compatible with drawing tablets. Pen-aware apps (such as Krita) can make use of features such as pressure and tilt.

Overview

You need about 2,000 levels of pressure — and could probably get by with far less.

These days it's fashionable for drawing tablets to advertise 8,000 or 16,000 levels of pressure. In my analysis, the vast majority of users only need about 2,000 levels and could get by with far less.

Steps

• Find the dimensions of the device and the active area (the dimensions will be published online)

Overview

At any point in the drawing tablet market, you'll see tablets labelled as "pro." Often these are sold alongside non-pro versions at the same time.

You cannot rely on the Pro designation to mean anything significant.

You cannot rely on the Pro designation to mean "better."

How the tiering is done

• Price is NOT considered

Overview

13" is a good way to get introduced to pen displays. Though I do think ultimately 16" is a better size longer term.

If I had to pick one

Huion Kamvas 13 GEN3 (GS1333)

Overview

The undisputed leading brand is Wacom (). They have a variety of products and different price points that should fit everyone's needs. If you don't want to weigh the pros and cons of different brands and want an easy answer then choose Wacom.

My experience: I currently own 39 Wacom tablets (6 pen displays and 33 pen tablets). I have extensively used every tablet in their professional series.

Some basic summaries of their leading series of tablets

Overview

Wacom has existed for over 40 years. In that time they've released many different drawing tablets.

In this document I'll point you to different lists of tablets depending on what you're interested in.

Overview

Mapping is how the tablet driver translated the position of the pen on the EMR sensor (AKA “the digitizer”) to a position on display.

Mapping for pen displays

The bezel of a drawing tablet is essentially all the area on the surface of the drawing tablet that is not the .

For many devices such a phones and TVs, people make a big deal about having the smallest bezels possible. For drawing tablets, it is good to have a wide bezel.

Ergonomic benefits

If you are new to Wacom, you should understand this issue because it is a constant source of confusion for people looking to buy a Wacom tablet, get help with a Wacom tablet, or buy a replacement pen for their Wacom tablet.

The problem: Wacom makes two sweveraldifferent devices with confusingly similar names:

"One by Wacom" refers to any of 2 pen tablets

• One by Wacom Small (CTL-472) released in 2018

Overview

Display toggle is a way for you dynamically switch which display your tablet's pen will map to.

For example, if you have two monitors A and B:

• You could map the tablet's active area to cover both displays simultaneously,

Overview

As of Feb 13, 2026 I have:

• 117 drawing tablets.

• 141 pens

Browse my inventory:

Quick tour

Sometimes people doubt that I have as many drawing tablets as I claim. As evidence, below is a quick tour of MOST of the tablets I have. Although not every tablet is shown, the video at least gives you a sense of how many I have.

Notes on my collection

• To see a full list of my tablets:

• In that spreadsheet, you can see

  • The tablet name, model number, and brand

Where I buy drawing tablets

• Most often I buy new tablets on Amazon or occasionally B&H Photo. If Amazon does not stock the tablet, I purchase it from the manufacturer's online store.

• If it is an older tablet i buy them on eBay.

How much have I spent on tablets?

Since 2021, about $40K USD.

This amount only accounts for drawing tablets, but not costs for:

• Additional pens

• Equipment used in making my YouTube videos or streams

• Measuring equipment (such as my digital scale, or infrared camera, etc.)

Overview

Most people buy drawing tablet to create digital art. I've collected some links below to help them get started on this journey.

The role of drawing tablets

I do recommend you get a drawing tablet for digital art, but remember you don't have to force yourself to use a tablet for everything.

Many people use tablets in addition to other techniques. For example, some people draw on paper and then photograph or scan the drawing to get it into their computer. From there, they just finish up their work with a drawing tablet.

Videos

• Digital art

  • Nadiaxel - 2022-07-04

  • Brad Colbow - 2020-02-24

Social

• Kawaii Sensei - There's lots of practical tips every day.

• EtheringtonBrothers - More frequent practical tips. And they publish useful printed guidebooks.

Equipment

Overview

Drawing tablets are heavily used for creating educational content. For example you've probably seen the Khan Academy videos and those are created with a drawing tablet.

For this you want high reliability and durability and you DO NOT need to spend a lot of money buying a fancy tablet. And for those reasons I'll keep the recommendations short:

What features you need

• Pressure support - Will help you strokes look more natural. All drawing tablets have this pressure support.

• Tilt - not needed for education use. More of an artist thing.

• Tablet buttons (aka. ExpressKeys) - I think they can come in very useful for people. For some people these are critical. No harm in getting them, you can always disable them.

My recommendations

Pen tablets (no screen)

• One by Wacom Medium (CTL-672) -

• Wacom Intuos Medium (CTL-6100 or CTL-6100WL)

• XP-Pen Deco MW

Pen displays (have a screen)

• Huion Kamvas 13 GEN3 (GS1333) -

• XP-Pen Artist 12 GEN2 (CD120FH)

• XP-Pen Artist 13 GEN2 (CD130FH)

Which tablet does Sal Khan use?

Sal Khan uses a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium for his videos. That is an AMAZING pen tablet (screenless tablet), but honestly overkill. You can get by with a much less expensive tablet.

He looks to be using an older Intuos Pro medium (not the PTH-660, or PTK-570, maybe the PTK-651).

Note that the Khan Academy has this document In that doc, they say he uses a Wacom Bamboo tablet. I suspect this probably was true at some point, but he clearly no longer uses it.

Resources

• - this is the video where he shows that he uses Wacom Intuos Pro Medium tablet.

• 2020-12-09

• [One by Wacom] 2020-12-02

Overview

Almost certainly you've used a mouse with a computer, and this this document will help you understand how using a drawing tablet with its pen differs from using a mouse.

Positioning strategy

Mice and drawing tablets have very different positioning strategies. Mice use relative positioning. Drawing tablets use absolute positioning. Learn more here: . Drawing tablets can simulate relative positioning if needed with . However, I don't recommend using mouse mode.

Stroke smoothness in drawing apps

With a drawing applications you'll notice that the strokes drawn with a mouse have a rougher stair-step effect and in general are not as smooth.

There are many techniques and features to help you draw smooth strokes. Some will work for both mouse and tablet, and some are specific to drawing tablets. More here: .

Position smoothing (aka "stabilization") is one of these techniques. However, Some apps may allow position smoothing with drawing tablets but not with mice.

Here's what Krita currently does:

• Basic smoothing: applies ONLY to drawing tablets

• Weighted smoothing: applies BOTH to drawing tablets and mice

Here's what Clip Studio Paint does:

• Stabilization: applies ONLY to drawing tablets

Clicking and moving the pointer

With a mouse, you move the pointer and clicks only happen when you take a very conscious effort to click a mouse button.

A drawing tablet feels very different. To move the pointer and avoid clicking you hover the pen over the drawing tablet (up to about 10mm) and this will move the pointer without clicking. If you touch the pen to the tablet however, this will count as a click.

So with a drawing tablet you have to get used to hovering and only pressing down when you want to click.

Keep the pointer on a single pixel (without clicking)

With a mouse it's usually pretty easy to put the pointer on a single pixel and keep it there. You can just move the mouse and once the pointer is where you want it, it's easy to hold the mouse in that position. Or you can even let go of the mouse and the pointer will stay there.

Drawing tablets feel very different in this regard. First, you can't touch the tablet with the pen you have to hover the pen over that spot. While it is very easy to hover in a general location (a couple of pixels wide) its much harder to keep the pen over a specific pixel while hovering because you hand will move around a bit. Also most drawing tablet pens are sensitive to the tilt of the pen, and so if you tilt the pen it may cause some movement in the mouse pointer.

Keep the pointer on a single pixel (while clicking)

Mice are really good at this. Once the pointer is where you want it, you can click the buttons and this can be done without changing the pointer location.

This is much harder with a pen. First there is the general difficulty of keeping the pointer on a specific pixel. And then, if you press the buttons on the pen, this will almost always change the position of the pen and thus the pointer.

Application considerations

if you are drawing strokes or painting in an app like Clip Studio Paint or Krita, then a drawing tablet will feel MUCH more natural.

If you are layout out shapes and creating vector shapes in applications like Illustrator, a mouse might actually be better because they are easier to keep in a specific pixel location. For example, I normally just use a mouse when I use illustrator.

Ergonomics > Wrist Pain

Using a mouse can place strain on your wrist. Drawing tablets are generally less stressful on your wrist. However, they also can place strain.

Power

Mice get their power from either a cable or they use batteries.

Modern drawing tablets all support wired connection through USB. Some tablets also support wireless connection through bluetooth.

The pens for a modern drawing tablet neither use a cable nor do they have batteries. Instead they get power simply from being near the drawing tablet.

ProTip: Match aspect ratios when using a pen tablet

Make sure you match aspect ratios when you are using a pen tablet so that drawing feels natural and your strokes are not distorted. More here:

Overview

The easiest way to understand what it feels like to draw on a drawing tablet is to compare it to drawing with pen and paper.

A pen display works just like pen and paper in the sense that you can exactly see what you're drawing. More specifically your eyes are looking at what you're drawing.

With a pen tablet things are very different - your hand is drawing in one place but you're looking somewhere else to see what's being drawn. So fundamentally using a pen tablet works differently than pen and paper.

Getting strokes right the first time

Because it is more clear what the pen is doing with the pen display many people who use append display say that they “get the stroke right the first time”.

With a pen tablet people often feel like they have to make the stroke multiple times to get it right and have to press undo to erase Any errant strokes.

I would generally agree with this feeling. When I want to get a drawing done faster especially if I have a general sense of what it is I want to draw then I do work faster with the pen display and I find that I have to press undo far less often.

Dealing with your hands

With a pen display, things are natural. You see the pen in the same place the stroke is being drawn - just like when you use pen and paper.

And just like pen-and-paper, your own hand and the pen will block your eyes from seeing the display. The easy solution to this is to reposition your eyes or take advantage of the canvas zoom and rotation features of your drawing app.

With a pen tablet, you are looking at a monitor but drawing somewhere else with your hand. Fundamentally this is no different than using a mouse. So this is kind of a convenience actually since you never have to worry about the positions of your hands. They can be anywhere and they will never block what you see.

Adjustment period

Because a pen display works like pen and paper almost everyone can immediately start using a pen display. It's just kind of obvious how it works. And especially these days with so many people having used devices like iPads. They know how to deal with the screen that they can interact with.

For pen tablets things get a little more complicated. I would say that 80% of people can immediately or at least in a few minutes get comfortable using a pen tablet. Another 10% of people will take anywhere from a couple of days to maybe a couple of weeks to adjust to a pen tablet. And the remaining 10% of people will never be able to adjust to a pen tablet. For them it will never feel natural to use. And they are better off getting a pen display.

Unfortunately without trying a pen tablet it's really difficult to tell if you would fall into the 10% of people who just can't use pen tablets..

Matching aspect ratios

With a pen display, the active are and the screen have the same size. This means the pen will draw exactly where you see it draw.

With a pen tablet, the active area where you raw is separate from the monitor where you see the your strokes. Unless specifically configured in the driver, this will cause your strokes to be distorted. For example if you draw a circle on the tablet it will show up as an oval on the screen. It is easy to fix this problem in the driver. More here: .

Overview

Pen computers are standalone drawing tablets with screens that you can use without being attached to a computer. Essentially they are laptops that work with an EMR pen that are specifically designed for drawing and are made by drawing tablet brands such as Wacom. Examples of pen computers are: Wacom Mobile Studio Pro and Huion Kamvas Studio

Even though some people love using pen computers, I do not in general recommend buying one.

In this document I will evaluate pen computers on several dimensions such as cost, upgradability, etc and show you why I think they are not a great choice.

I suggest you seek alternatives

I think there are better options for you:

Cost

Pen computers are incredibly expensive.

For example the Wacom Mobile Studio 16 (2019) cost $3500 at time of release.

I certainly do not recommend pen computers for people who are just getting started with drawing tablets. I will always recommend that you go with cheaper alternatives. And the reason for this is simple: You may find that the wrong experience doesn't live up to your expectations.

Upgradability

Pen computers typically have very limited upgradability compared to using a normal drawing tablet that requires a PC.

Typically once you buy pen computer you'll be stuck with those specifications in terms of memory processor speed and GPU for the entire lifetime of the device. If you are going to purchase a pen computer please verify how upgradable it is before you make the purchase.

if you use a non-standalone drawing tablet attached to a PC or laptop, you can either upgrade the PC or get a new laptop with significantly upgraded specs.

Customer support

Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Dell sell a lot of laptops and all-in-one systems. These companies have built world-class customer support organizations and support systems to ensure that their customers are getting the help they need when a customer has a question or something goes wrong with these complicated devices.

The truth is that drawing tablet manufacturers aren't as big as these companies. They handle a much smaller volume of products and users and you may find that their customer support may not be as helpful as these larger companies.

Repairs

As with most laptops and all-in-one systems a pen display is typically not intended to be user-serviceable. If something goes wrong it's going to be difficult to fix by yourself. Not only are these computers often not designed to be opened. Even if you are successful in opening the case and fixing whatever problem there is it will most certainly void your warranty.

If you need to have the pen computer repaired by the manufacturer. You are going to find that both the process is difficult and the cost is extraordinarily high.

You cannot take these devices into a local retail store for the tablet manufacturer to take a look at. You'll have to send the pen computer back to the manufacturer and you will have to pay for the cost of shipping. And the repair cost can be as expensive as getting another laptop.

Overview

Instead of pen computers, I recommend looking at other kinds of standalone devices: pen-enabled mobile devices or pen-enabled laptops.

• To understand why I don't recommend pen computers: The case against pen computers

ALTERNATIVE #1: Pen-enabled mobile devices

• Apple iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S series tablets that use the Samsung S Pen

ALTERNATIVE #2: Pen-enabled laptops

• Microsoft Surface Pro

• Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro

More here:

ALTERNATIVE #3: Laptops/Mini PCs + pen display

Another option is to use a standard drawing tablet connected to a small mini PC or laptop. This lets you draw in different locations, though dealing with the extra cabling can be cumbersome.

Introduction

If you want to buy a drawing tablet as a gift but have never used one yourself, it can be challenging to choose well. This guide is here to help you find a good option.

Understand the kinds of drawing tablets available

The first thing you need to understand is the type of drawing tablet you want to give as a gift. This is very important because it determines how the recipient will use the tablet and how much it will cost. Read this document first before continuing: .

Understand the basics

Does the recipient already have experience with a drawing tablet?

This is important because:

• You should understand what they like and don't like about that experience.

• They already have a set of expectations.

• They might not even need a drawing tablet if they already have a device that serves that role.

For example, if they already have an Apple iPad:

• They may want to continue using iPad apps.

• You could buy an Apple Pencil model that is compatible with their iPad.

If you are looking for a quick answer within your budget

See this list of

They are separated by type and size of tablet, with options available at multiple price points.

When ready, look through the full buying guide

The full buying guide:

These tips will be useful: Video:

Make sure the tablet will physically connect to their computer

For a pen tablet or pen display, it must connect to a computer. For a pen tablet, this is easy — the computer just needs one available USB port. For a pen display it can get complicated. See:

Do they need to use certain apps?

Sometimes the apps they need dictate what will work for them.

Examples:

• If they want to use the Procreate app → the only option is an Apple iPad, since Procreate only works on iPads.

• If they need to use the full version of Photoshop (as opposed to the mobile version) → they can't use an Android device or an iPad.

Join the discord for more help

Go here for the invite link:

EXCELLENT

• Wacom Intuos Pro Medium (PTK-670)

• Wacom Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-660)

VERY GOOD

• Huion Inspiroy Frego M (L610)

• XP-Pen Deco Pro

  • XP-Pen Deco Pro MW GEN2 (MT0962B)

GOOD

• One by Wacom Medium (CTL-672) [no tilt, no wireless]

• XP-Pen Deco M (IT850) [no wireless]

• XP-Pen Deco MW (IT850B)

OK

• Huion Inspiroy HS611 - Little bit of an older Huion tablet with older tech. But it does work fine.

• Huion Inspiroy RTP-700 - Seems OK but haven't spent much time with it

• XP-Pen Deco 01 V3

AVOID

• Wacom One M (CTC-6110WL)

EXCELLENT

• Wacom Cintiq 16 2025 (DTK-168)

• Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 (DTH-172)

• Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 (DTH-167)

VERY GOOD

• Huion Kamvas 16 GEN3 (GS1563)

• XP-Pen Artist Pro 19 GEN2 (MD180UH)

• XP-Pen Artist Ultra 16

GOOD

• Huion Kamvas Pro 16 V2

• Xencelabs Pen Display 16

DECENT

• - excellent drawing experience but very dated screen

AVOID

• Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Plus 4K (GT1562) LOTS OF AG SPARKLE

• XP-Pen Artist 16 GEN2 (CD160FH) EXCESSIVE DIAGONAL WOBBLE

Videos

Overview

The choices for standalone mobile devices essentially come down to Apple iPads vs Android tablets. Each has their advantages.

For drawing

These are for when you want a GREAT drawing experience. Especially if you are already used to drawing tablets or Wacom professional tablets and pens.

EXCELLENT

• Wacom MovinkPad Pro 14 -

  • This tablet has the best drawing experience on the market out of any current standalone tablet of any kind and from any brand.

• Wacom MovinkPad 11 -

OK

• XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad 2024 - I don't have any experience with this tablet.

• XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad 2025 (MDP1221) -

For general usage

This is when you want a general-purpose mobile device, but also want decent pen support for things like sketching, notetaking, whiteboarding, etc.

• Apple iPads + the Apple Pencil -

  • Apple iPads can play the role of a drawing tablet very well. Do keep in mind, the Apple Pencil does not come with an iPad so you will have to purchase the pencil separately.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S devices -

Avoid

• Samsung Galaxy Tab A Series - NOT RECOMMENDED of tablets. More here: Samsung Galaxy Tab A. See

• Huion Slate - NOT RECOMMENDED

Budget Android choices

Resources

• 2025-03-12

Overview

Pen-enabled 2-in-1 laptops aren't really drawing tablets. They're laptops that you can also use for drawing. The drawing experience with these devices is not as good as a dedicated drawing tablet but they may be enough for what you need.

• Operating system: currently all run Windows

• Scenario: General purpose

• Pen tech: varies. MPP, EMR

These devices are really for general purpose use. These are great choices when what you want is a full-featured desktop operating system where you can use things like Microsoft Office, or the full version of Photoshop, etc.

Samsung Galaxy Book 4/5 360

This is a 2-in-1 laptop that folds over. The drawing experience is good - not super great but good.

Pen information:

• Tech: Wacom EMR (specifically UD EMR)

• Comes with this pen: ()

• Pen compatibility: These devices also works with the the Wacom CP-913 pen. And many people choose to use the Wacom CP-913 instead of the S Pen.

Recent models:

• Samsung Galaxy Book5 360

• Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360

Microsoft Surface Pro

This is a 2-in-1 laptop that can be used with detachable keyboard. This drawing experience is OK. It's better suited in my opinion for notetaking or whiteboarding rather than drawing.

Pen information

• Tech: MPP (similar to AES)

• Comes with pen: NO. You have to buy The Surface Slim Pen 2 separately.

• (starting at $900)

• (starting at $900)

Scenario

When I "whiteboarding" i include any scenario where you are drawing something for the sake of communicating visually.

Example:

• Online teaching

• Zoom call

• Recording Khan-Academy style videos

Good news

You don't need a fancy tablet for white boarding

• For pen tablets (screenless tablets) - Any medium size beginner pen tablet will work. See: See:

• For pen displays (screen tablets) -

Pen tablet vs Pen display

Both work, but if you are drawing things live for these scenarios, I do encourage you to look into a pen display (screen tablet).

For his Khan Academy videos, the last time I checked, Sal Khan used an Intuos Pro Medium (PTH-660).

Overview

These are highly-curated recommendations for people who are just beginning to get into drawing tablets.

• All these tablets deliver the basic experiences and a reasonable price

• Some of these tablets are missing so-called "pro" features.

Which kind of drawing tablet

The first thing you need to understand is the type of drawing tablet you want to buy. So, read this document first before you continue: .

My thoughts on your first drawing tablet

• In general I recommend people to spend the least amount of money possible if they are just starting out.

• For that reason I suggest that you get a pen tablet (no screen) unless you are absolutely sure that you MUST have a pen display (has a screen). More here:

• If you really need a standalone, get an iPad or Wacom MovinkPad, or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet. More here:

Applications

See:

Digital Art

If you are interested exploring digital art with your tablet:

If I had to pick one

If I had to pick one item on this list, I would recommend the One by Wacom CTL-672 for sure. It's reliable and has a good drawing experience though it does not have tilt support. The Huion Frego M (L610) is a new tablet (released in 2024) that is also a terrific beginner choice and it does have tilt.

Other good options

• One by Wacom Medium (CTL-672) ★★★

• Huion Inspiroy Frego M (L610) ★★★

• XP-Pen Deco series ★★★

Top choices

• Wacom MovinkPad 11 (Wacom MovinkPad 11 (DTH-A116) notes) - Best drawing experience. Optimized for getting your sketches captured when the inspiration strikes. Performance is mid.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE ( ) - this has a decent drawing experience, and also works well as an iPad-like device. Good all around Android tablet with decent performance for its cost.

• Apple iPad - Any Apple iPad that works with the Apple Pencil 2 () . You will have the buy the Apple Pencil 2 separately. It does NOT come with the iPad.

Super Low Budget Option

• Samsung S6 LITE 2024 edition - not powerful but decent drawing experience. Good starter tablet for a child.

Resources

Avoid

• Huion Kamvas Slate 13 - Poor drawing experience

• Huion Kamvas Slate 11 - Poor drawing experience

Many people use drawing tablets to play osu!. More here: Gaming with a drawing tablet

If you are interested in playing osu! with a drawing tablet, do not rely on recommendations from drawing tablet reviewers — they focus on the needs of creative users. Don't rely on my recommendations for the same reason.

Instead, the definitive resource to consult is Kuuube's tablet buying guide.

If you want a quick answer now, the One by Wacom (CTL-x72) series of tablets are excellent for osu!. More here: One by Wacom (CTL-x72) notes.

• One by Wacom Small (CTL-472)

• One by Wacom Medium (CTL-672)

If your budget is less constrained and you also want to do artwork, you could consider the Wacom Intuos Pro series. These are also great for osu!, but they are very expensive and are no better for osu! than the CTL-x72 series.

• Wacom Intuos Pro 2025

  • Wacom Intuos Pro Small 2025 (PTK-470)

  • Wacom Intuos Pro Medium 2025 (PTK-670)

Wacom guidance (with caution)

Wacom lists recommended tablets for osu! here: . However, their list includes some tablets that are NOT recommended for osu!. I suggest disregarding their list and choosing from the models listed above or the ones Kuuube recommends.

Introduction

There are many tablet brands and picking the brand of the tablet is one of the most important decisions you will need to make when selecting a tablet to purchase

Landscape

Tier 1: Wacom

Wacom was founded in 1983 continues to make the highest quality and most reliable tablets. In general, Wacom has the best drawing experience. Their products are the most expensive. I consider Wacom to be the "safe choice".

• More here:

• Wacom -

Tier 2: Huion, XP-Pen, & Xencelabs

Huion and XP-pen since about 2021 have been releasing decent devices and size 2023/2024 a couple very good ones that compete strongly with Wacom. In many ways they deliver 90% of what a typical person needs for about half the cost. They do trail Wacom in reliability and in customer support however. If you carefully research a tablet from these brands, you can find one that works for you.

• More here:

• Huion -

• XP-Pen -

Xencelabs (founded 2019) is a new brand focused only on professional tablets for professionally users. Xencelabs has a very strong focus on customer support.

• More here:

• Xencelabs -

Tier 3: Smaller brands

After Wacom, Huion, XP-Pen, there are many other brands that focus on budget or consumer tablets. All these brands the same technology as the Tier 2 brands. In fact they are even owned by the same companies. These brands have smaller portfolios, less responsive customer support, and smaller online communities.

• Artisul -

• Gaomon -

• Ugee -

Tier 4: Everyone else

Avoid.

How to choose the right brand for you

More here:

Overview

HUION (https://www.huion.com/) and XP-PEN (https://www.xp-pen.com/) are the next big tablet brands. Their recent (2021 and later) models have been pretty good - but still trail Wacom a bit in quality and reliability. In general I think they offer 90% of what you get with a WACOM but at a substantial price reduction.

Their best tablets

In 2023 and 2024 Huion and XP have released models with upgraded tech that are challenging Wacom's professional line.

• Huion Kamvas Pro 19

• Huion Kamvas Pro 27

• XP-Pen Deco Pro GEN2

• XP-Pen Artist Pro GEN2

A lot of their improvements with these tablets are due to their pens handling pressure better: lower IAF and much wider pressure ranges than before.

What HUION and XP-PEN do well:

• Good price vs cost

• Their latest offerings since 2021 are very usable for creative tasks.

• They introduce new models frequently - much more often than Wacom.

How Huion and XP-PEN could do better

• Huion pen displays - especially the high PPI ones tend to show more AG sparkle. more here: .

• Pointer lag:

  • XP-pen pen displays tend to exhibit slightly more pointer lag than Wacom or Huion. More here: .

Switching from Wacom

If you are an existing Wacom user yuou should keep in mind there are somethings that Wacom does where Huion and XP-Pen are still catching up on. In particular some of Wacom's pens (especially the Pro models) have an extremely low IAF (<1gf) . Huion latest pro pens can get to 2gf (per Huion's statements) and 3gf (per XP-Pen's statements). If you are used to a Wacom pen making marks at very tiny pressure you may find these higher IAF values hard to deal with.

Here are two examples of curves that ignore input.

IGNORE BOTTOM - ignores the lower end of logical pressure

IGNORE TOP - ignores the upper end of logical pressure

IGNORE BOTTOM

Effectively this increases the perceived IAF of the pen.

This is useful in several cases:

• Your pen might be drawing while hovering and this is one way that might help that problem

• Some people don't want the pen to draw when in contact with the tablet, the only want to use it to point. They can ignore pressure to help make this happen.

IGNORE TOP

Some people have issues with their hands and with pens that have a very high pressure range they can never get to the full maximum pressure. They can use IGNORE TOP to effectively lower the maximum physical pressure.

Overview

I don't do 3D work myself, so this document is based on feedback I've been given by others and what I have observed in online forums. Please share any

Introduction

As a rectangular region, we can discuss the size of the active area in different ways

• Width & Height

The pressure response of a pen describes the behavior of a pen with regard to pressure.

The pen measures physical force at its tip. Information about the physical force is sent to the tablet and then translated into a logical pressure value. The pressure response is the relationship between that physical pressure and the logical pressure.

In numerical terms it can be expressed as a simple set of data points. And if we graph those data points with the physical pressure on the X axis and the logical pressure on the Y axis - then we get a chart that visualizes the pressure response.

All pens come out-of-the-box with a specific pressure response. And keep in mind the response is unique to each pen. The response even for pens of the same model will differ a little bit at the very least.

One thing that is generally found among EMR - is that the shape of the pressure response is bowed up quite a bit.

Overview

All drawing tablets have multiple components, but the primary component is the EMR sensor - which also called the digitizer.

And despite all the many brands of drawing tablets you see, there are only a couple of manufacturers of digitizers. These are: Wacom, Hanvon Ugee, Huion.

I'm collecting information about the last drivers available for discontinued products. This list is incomplete and may be merged with other docs in the future.

Overview

Xencelabs () positions itself as a direct competitor to Wacom for the professional creative audience

They are a very new brand and have a small product line as of Jan 2024:

Introduction

The null pressure curve is the most important pressure curve - exactly because it does nothing. We can apply the null pressure curve to any pressure profile and it will not shift the profile in any direction.

Introduction

The active area of a drawing tablet is the rectangle region of the tablet's surface that detects the EMR pen. Some drawing tablet manufacturers (Wacom & XP-pen) use the term active area while others (Huion) use the term working area.

When we talk about the "size" of the drawing tablet, we are referring to the active area.

Drawing tablets use absolute positioning

That means the tablet knows the (x,y) location of the pen precisely on the active area of the tablet.

The pen does not even have to touch the tablet. As long as the pen is close - about 10 mm typically - to the active area and within the bounds of the active area, the tablet knows the pen's position. This position detection without touching is typically called "support for hover".

Overview

The pressure dead zone is an area of a pressure curve that is deliberately designed to ignore a bit of the lower end of the pressure range. The pressure dead zone effectively increases the IAF of the pen.

Overview

Ideally when you're drawing with an EMR pen, smooth changes to physical pressure are translated to smooth changes in the pressure data the computer is getting from the tablet.

In reality at low pressure near the IAF, you can experience some instability where pressure readings might do certain strange things. And this will produce odd artifacts in your strokes.

Often this instability is present in your strokes but may not be noticeable at all especially if your brush size is small (for example 10px). But if you are using very large brush sizes like 100 pixels or 500 pixels, it may be much more obvious.

Pressure levels

Conceptually, a drawing tablet takes the pressure range and divides the range up into segments - each segment is a pressure level.

The number of pressure levels is NOT decided by the pen. It is ultimately determined by the tablet itself. It can be the case that a tablet decides to have 4K pressure levels with one pen model but 8K pressure levels with another pen model.