How can you find the right drawing tablet with screen for your needs and budget? I’ve put together this all-new guide for artists to help you do just that! Let’s have a look!
Overview: Best Drawing Tablets with Screen for Artists in 2023
Creative Pen and Touch Display – 4K graphic drawing monitor with 8192 pen pressure and 99% Adobe RGB
Wacom Cintiq 22 Drawing Tablet with HD Screen, Graphic Monitor, 8192 Pressure-Levels
NEWEST MODEL: UHD Graphics Drawing Tablet, Full-Laminated Screen Anti-Glare Glass 140% sRGB - Battery-Free Stylus 8192 Pen Pressure and KD100 Wireless Express Key, 23.8 Inch
With Full-Laminated QD Screen 140% sRGB 2.5K Graphic Drawing Monitor Battery-Free Stylus 8192 Pen Pressure Tilt for PC/Mac/Android, 23.8inch Pen Display
11.6 Inch Drawing Monitor Pen Display | Fully Laminated Screen with Tilt Function | Battery-Free Stylus and 8 Shortcut Keys (8192 Levels Pen Pressure and 72% NTSC)
13.3-inch FHD Pen Graphics Display :: Screen with anti-glare protector :: Wacom One Battery-Free Stylus Pen :: 4096 pressure sensitivity levels :: Up to 60 degrees of tilt for easy shading :: 99% sRGB color gamut :: Built-in stand :: Early 2020 model :: HDMI and USB-A connectivity :: Windows, macOS, Android, Chromebook
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Best Drawing Tablet with Screen Overall (Best Professional Choice)
Creative Pen and Touch Display – 4K graphic drawing monitor with 8192 pen pressure and 99% Adobe RGB
Also available with a 24 Inch screen:
Creative Pen Display – 4K Graphic Drawing Monitor with 8192 Pen Pressure and 99% Adobe RGB
At a Glance
- Screen Size: 31.5 Inches
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (UHD)
- RGB Color Gamut: 98% Adobe RGB
- Contrast: 1000:1
- Pressure Sensitivity: 8,192 Levels
- Tilt Recognition: ±60°
- Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.11 or later & Windows 7 or later
The true standard for professional artists, animators, illustrators, photographers and designers around the world is Wacom.
Wacom products are used in major studios, creative corporations and cooperatives at the very highest level, and this top of the line Cintiq Pro 32 inch pen display tablet is an excellent example of why the company and their products are so dominant – and is as well a beautifully designed and beautifully made large drawing tablet.
No other drawing tablets can match the perfect pen-to-screen interaction of a Cintiq Pro, which includes the amazing Wacom Pro Pen (the only one I might actually prefer over an Apple Pencil), or the overall drawing experience. There is an ideal balance of smooth flow and precision control, and the physical process feels just right.
And no other tablet screen – regardless of claimed specifications – can come close to the Pro’s clarity, contrast, brightness and color accuracy and range.
In fact, to work on a Cintiq Pro – and especially this big, big 32 inch drawing tablet – is a whole new experience, with depth and life, resolution and accuracy that must be seen to be fully appreciated. You can work in greater detail, with more control and more confidence, than you can with any other display tablet available today.
The included ExpressKey Remote, with its programmable shortcut buttons, and the ability to use multi-touch gestures directly on the screen, only add to the usability of this magnificent professional tablet, and can really allow you to drop into your own creative zone fully.
Another of the many reasons the 32 inch Cintiq Pro is so huge among serious commercial and fine artists is the amazing build quality, which allows you to work as much and as often as you want or need, and be able to count on reliability and consistent performance every time and for many years to come.
Without a doubt, and without any real serious competitors, the Wacom Cintiq Pro 32 inch is the best pen display tablet on the market today.
Best Wacom Alternative
Wacom Cintiq 22 Drawing Tablet with HD Screen, Graphic Monitor, 8192 Pressure-Levels
The Wacom Cintiq is also available in a smaller, less expensive 16 inch model:
16 Inch FHD IPS Touchscreen :: Scratch-Resistant Anti-Glare Surface :: 96% Adobe sRGB :: 8192 Levels of Pen Pressure Sensitivity :: Tilt Sensitivity :: Low Parallax :: Windows and Mac
At a Glance
- Screen Size: 21.5 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
- RGB Color Gamut: 96% sRGB
- Contrast: 1000:1
- Pressure Sensitivity: 8,192 Levels
- Tilt Recognition: ±60°
- Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.11 or later & Windows 7 or later
No, I haven’t made a mistake – in fact, for many high level professional and fine artists the only possible alternative to a Wacom is another Wacom.
And to get that world famous Wacom performance and reliability for a substantially lower price, the Cintiq 22 creative pen display is a perfect choice, with a remarkably vivid and lifelike screen that has so much depth, visibility and accuracy that you can work with absolute confidence, knowing that the colors, light values, details, relationships and geometry are just as they appear.
With a pen that feels so right on the screen, and captures the subtlety of every single gesture, as well as allowing the most precise and detailed work imaginable, the Cintiq 22 really does support work on any level. And for even greater working flow, many people love using the (optional – not included).
As with any Wacom product, given their remarkably conservative published specifications, the numbers do not tell the whole story, and while less expensive tablets do sometimes claim actually better performance – especially for their display – the Cintiq 22 in the real world is clearly superior, and its full HD screen quite breathtaking.
As rugged as any top-tier Wacom tablet, and really meant for serious (or, I suppose, fun) professional use, the Wacom Cintiq 22 is a great alternative to their Pro line, and would also make a fabulous tablet for any artist on any level.
My Favorite Drawing Tablet with Screen
NEWEST MODEL: UHD Graphics Drawing Tablet, Full-Laminated Screen Anti-Glare Glass 140% sRGB - Battery-Free Stylus 8192 Pen Pressure and KD100 Wireless Express Key, 23.8 Inch
At a Glance
- Screen Size: 23.8 Inches
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160 (UHD)
- RGB Color Gamut: 140% sRGB
- Contrast: 1200:1
- Pressure Sensitivity: 8,192 Levels
- Tilt Recognition: ±60°
- Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.12 or later :: Windows 7 or later :: Android
Wow, this was a tough choice! I mean, any of the picks in this graphic tablet buyer’s guide is so nice to work with, and I’ve really loved my time with all of them, and each for its own special reason.
But while the XP-Pens (below) offer delightful working experience for very little money, and the Wacoms (above) have material quality and performance that gives be absolute confidence when I’m creating, the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 offers the most amazing combination of truly top level performance, incredible stylus to screen feeling and interaction, toughness and reliability, and real value.
It also includes the nicely designed and very useful KD100 wireless programmable express key keypad, as well as Huion’s latest stylus – the PenTech 3.0 – making this a really easy, intuitive tablet to use, and one that really lets you flow with creativity.
And, I have to say, the fully laminated touchscreen is drop-dead gorgeous! Other drawing tablets with screen resolution this high are either much more expensive or just don’t look anything like the bright, contrasty, deeply saturated image you get with the Kamvas Pro 24.
Yes, the Wacom displays may be a smidge more accurate in actual real-world use – usually for substantially more money – but they aren’t any prettier than this Huion Pro, which also has comparable levels of correctness in color and light intensity, essentially the same levels of detail and resolution, and accuracy in representation, relationship and geometry that would fully satisfy all but the very most demanding professional artists (think Dreamworks or Pixar).
So if your work will end up on an Imax screen, or you really do appreciate the very best quality money can buy, the Wacom Pro above is the best of the best, and a brilliant investment.
But for around half the money this Huion Pro 24 is an incredible machine, perfect for really discerning fine and commercial artists and art students, and in my mind the best value going on the top level.
It’s also a dream to work with, and, all things considered, my favorite display tablet on the market today!
Best Mid-Priced Drawing Tablet with Screen
With Full-Laminated QD Screen 140% sRGB 2.5K Graphic Drawing Monitor Battery-Free Stylus 8192 Pen Pressure Tilt for PC/Mac/Android, 23.8inch Pen Display
At a Glance
- Screen Size: 23.8 Inches
- Resolution: 2560×1440 (QHD)
- RGB Color Gamut: 140% sRGB
- Contrast: 1200:1
- Pressure Sensitivity: 8,192 Levels
- Tilt Recognition: ±60°
- Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.12 or later :: Windows 7 or later :: Android :: Chromebook
While the Huion Pro 24 just above represents an amazing value in a professional level graphics display tablet, this Huion Kamvas 24 Plus may be an even better bargain.
You still get a big, fully laminated and etched touchscreen, which allows for incredible precision and high levels of detail and accuracy, and provides real impact with any art, and the same reliability and durability – day to day and over the long term – that we have come to expect from Huion.
And, with their latest stylus technology, the included Huion PenTech 3.0 battery free pen is wonderful to use, with immediate, lagless and skipless flow and perfect feedback against the screen.
But, for about a third less, instead of a full 4K screen you get instead a still quite impressive 2.5K Quad High Definition touchscreen, with not just an incredibly high level of resolution, but amazing brightness and contrast as well, and real life, depth and power.
I love a big, dynamic, bright and clear high resolution screen, and for the money this is the very best one I’ve used. Add to that superior material quality and reliability, and an optimally responsive and controllable pen to screen interaction, and the Huion Kamvas 24 Plus is a real winner, and an easy choice for best mid-priced drawing tablet with screen.
I should mention that the 24 Plus does not have any onboard express keys, but the Huion Mini KeyDial KD100 wireless keypad works brilliantly, and I highly recommend using one with this tablet.
Wireless Express Key Remote Control Shortcut Keyboard with Dial 18 Customized Express Keys for Graphics Drawing Tablet, PC, Mac, Laptop, Surface Pro
Best Drawing Tablet with Screen for Students
13.3-inch FHD Pen Graphics Display :: Screen with anti-glare protector :: Wacom One Battery-Free Stylus Pen :: 4096 pressure sensitivity levels :: Up to 60 degrees of tilt for easy shading :: 99% sRGB color gamut :: Built-in stand :: Early 2020 model :: HDMI and USB-A connectivity :: Windows, macOS, Android, Chromebook
At a Glance
- Screen Size: 13.3 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
- RGB Color Gamut: 99% sRGB
- Contrast: 1000:1
- Pressure Sensitivity: 4,096 Levels
- Tilt Recognition: ±60°
- Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.12 or later & Windows 7 or later
As I mentioned in my choices above, for best of the best tablets, Wacom is the de facto standard for the very top level professional and fine artists.
More surprising, perhaps, is that they are also a perfect choice for budget-conscious students. Really? At Wacom prices?!?
Yes, the Cintiq and Cintiq Pro would make incredible choices for any art student, but realistically they may be a wee bit too expensive, great as they are.
But the relatively new Wacom One is a dream come true for any student of fine or commercial art, photography, or really anything else. For a tiny fraction of the price of our top pick, you still get the most important things:
- Excellent material quality, reliability and durability
- High levels of accuracy, both in displaying art and in registering creative gestures
- That indescribably nice, just right feeling of a Wacom pen moving across a Wacom screen
The Wacom One does not, obviously, have the same level of resolution or absolute industry standard color accuracy as the Cintiq or Cintiq Pro lines, and yet the depth and life, the visibility and the usability are quite amazing – and much better than so many other companies’ similarly priced display tablets – and the displayed image is strikingly beautiful.
It should be said that the One offers something the higher level Wacoms don’t – compatibility with Android devices and Chromebook – making it an even better fit for many students today.
A highly affordable, tough and high performance product from the undisputed industry leader in professional drawing tablets with touchscreens, the Wacom One is one of the true bargains on the market today, and an ideal drawing tablet for any art student.
You might also want to consider the brilliantly designed Wacom ExpressKey Remote, which makes the One even more of a delight to use!
Best Budget Drawing Tablet with Screen
11.6 Inch Drawing Monitor Pen Display | Fully Laminated Screen with Tilt Function | Battery-Free Stylus and 8 Shortcut Keys (8192 Levels Pen Pressure and 72% NTSC)
At a Glance
- Screen Size: 11.6 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
- RGB Color Gamut: 100% sRGB
- Contrast: 1000:1
- Pressure Sensitivity: 8,192 Levels
- Tilt Recognition: ±60°
- Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.12 or later & Windows 7 or later :: Chromebook :: Linux
As the last pick in our buyer’s guide to the best drawing tablet with touchscreen we have the wonderful XP-Pen Artist 12 Pro.
Not in any way a mere also-ran, the Artist 12 Pro comes from one of the best tablet manufacturers in the world: XP-Pen – really the only other company I know that can easily vie with Huion and even Wacom for quality, reliability and real-world usability.
And XP-Pen may offer even better value than either of them, and the 12 inch Pro is a perfect example.
The Artist 12 Pro boasts a bright and beautiful fully laminated screen which, despite its smaller size, lets you work on even the most detailed and intricate images with ease (and with no eye strain, thanks to its great brightness, contrast and sharpness). The screen also boasts very high levels of color accuracy and range, and is equally accurate and expressive in its range of light values.
And, amazingly for this price, the Artist includes a well designed and incredibly useful xpress ring and eight programmable keys for shortcuts and navigation.
I do prefer the feel of the more expensive Huion and Wacom pens against their screens when I’m working, but I find the XP-Pen to be delightful anyway, and absolutely satisfying when I’m creating or editing images. The flow, feedback and control are, in fact, quite excellent, and far (far, far) better than any other cheap drawing tablet I’ve used.
The Artist 12 Pro also feels sturdy and substantial, and will not only withstand the portability its smaller size allows, but also heavy day to day use over the long term.
The XP-Pen Artist 12 is a highly affordable tablet that, despite its very low price, allows even serious artists to work with ease and effectiveness, and is absolutely perfect for beginners or those on a tight budget – clearly the best bargain pen display tablet available today!
For a bit of a more immersive creative experience, and for not a lot more money, you can also get an XP-Pen Artist Pro in larger 16 and 22 inch screen sizes:
15.6 Inch IPS Drawing Monitor Pen Display Graphics Digital Monitor with Full-Laminated Battery-Free Passive Stylus (8192 Levels Pen Pressure, 120% sRGB)
21.5-inch FHD Pen Graphics Display :: Fully-laminated screen with anti-glare protector :: PA2 Battery-Free Stylus Pen :: 8192 pressure sensitivity levels :: Up to 60 degrees of tilt for easy shading :: 120% sRGB color gamut :: 2 dial wheels & 20 shortcut keys :: Built-in stand :: Late 2019 model :: 2x USB, HDMI, VGA and USB-C connectivity :: Windows, macOS, Linux, Chromebook
A digital art tablet can be one of the most wonderful tools any artist can have, allowing you to create beautiful digital art with precision, flow and ease. And especially valuable, and nice to work with, are drawing tablets with nice touch screens built right in, so you can clearly see and work directly on your art.
We’ll talk a bit about what a pen display tablet is, and what to look for in your next tablet, and then I’ll present my picks for the best drawing tablets with screens on the market today, with short descriptive reviews for each one.
What is a Pen Display Tablet?
What we’re talking about here is a digital drawing tablet that plugs into your computer but has its own display screen. These pen displays will have a high quality touch screen that accurately and beautifully shows your art and your art software, allowing you to work directly on it with a stylus, so you can draw, paint, retouch photos, control the computer and software and lots of other stuff.
A pen display tablet is also called a drawing tablet with a screen, graphics tablet with a screen, a pen tablet with screen, a graphics drawing tablet or a graphics display tablet, and we will use these terms interchangeably in this article.
What’s really wonderful about a graphics tablet with a display screen is that you can see exactly what you’re doing when you’re doing it – if you are drawing, you see the drawing on the tablet’s computer screen and work directly on it, and the same with painting, photos, animations, 3D renderings or any other art.
When you set your stylus down on the drawing surface and move it, you instantly see the results, right there on the screen and on your artwork, and the pen pressure sensitivity and tilt sensitivity allow for a very familiar feeling.
So creating on a pen display tablet can be much more direct and “normal,” and combines the full power of digital art software and the natural and gratifying process of traditional media like paint and brushes, pens or pencils on paper or canvas.
What’s the Difference Between Pen Tablets and Pen Display Tablets?
What we would normally call just a pen tablet, or a drawing tablet or graphics tablet, is similar to what we’re talking about, in that it is a tablet that comes with a digital pen, and that you plug into your computer and can draw or paint directly onto – but, they do not have a display screen, so you have to look at your computer monitor while you’re drawing or painting.
On the other hand, a pen display tablet, or graphics tablet with screen, has a touchscreen with (hopefully) very good and accurate colors, high resolution and a nicely sensitive and flowing interface between the tablet’s display surface and the digital pen.
While either can be a great painting and drawing device for artists and their work, many people find the simple graphics tablet without a screen difficult to use and kind of confusing, and don’t feel they ever have the kind of control, precision or effectiveness they want or need.
A pen display tablet, though, can be a lot easier and more intuitive, and since you are seeing and directly working on your art you can work with a lot of control, precision and accuracy, and your work and your creativity can really just flow.
And so while simple drawing tablets can be super-cheap, and can work quite well once you get the hang of them, most digital artists, illustrators, photographers or other creatives greatly prefer using a pen display tablet, which can bring their work to a whole new level.
Please note that we are not, in this article at least, offering any standalone tablet recommendations, but you may want to check out this related article:
Best Standalone Drawing Tablet
What Should You Look for in the Best Drawing Tablets with Screens?
We’ve actually mentioned a couple of things already, but let’s try to list all of the features and qualities you would want and expect in the best drawing tablets with touchscreens:
High Resolution
Not only does increased sharpness and detail allow you to work with much higher precision and control – in highly detailed and complex art and also in simple and subtle gestures – it also allows you to see your work more accurately and honestly, and lets you work longer with greater ease and less physical fatigue or eye strain.
Good Contrast and Brightness
Again, a bright and contrasty screen is important for not only seeing your work accurately, and working more effectively, but also for working with greater ease and less stress and strain.
Color Accuracy
Consistently accurate industry standard colors are crucial to artists, letting you really see colors and their relationships, and their effect and impact in your art. This can touch upon not only how a piece works, how it looks and feels, but also how it will work in relationship with other work, in context of a larger job or project, and how it will print or display.
Pen-to-Screen Interface
Actually we’re talking about a whole lot of stuff here – the quality and feel of the pressure sensitive pen itself, the sensitivity and accuracy of the screen, the feeling, flow and control of the screen’s surface, and the way the pen works and feels when you’re working.
Good pen to screen interaction can make all the difference to any artist, letting you work with confidence and effectiveness, and with as little thought and effort as possible, while an inferior working experience can cause you to make mistakes, lose control and constantly have to come out of your creative flow.
Material and Build Quality and Reliability
You want a tablet that looks great and works well, but also one that you can count on to work every single time, and for a long time to come. And since many artists work in various places, and need to take their kit with, it’s nice to know you can throw (or at least lovingly place) your new display tablet in your bag without worry.
Other Stuff
Other considerations include:
- The size of the display – large is great, but budget, working space or personal preference may say otherwise.
- Compatibility – all of the pen display tablets on our list will be fully compatible with Apple and Windows, and some with Android, Chromebook and even Linux.
- Budget – more expensive tablets, or at least those among our picks, do offer better and more beautiful displays and a nicer overall working experience, but I want to make sure that even the least expensive of my choices feels like a premium product and will beautifully serve any artist on any level.
Finding the Best Pen Display Tablet for You and Your Needs
I have worked with lots and lots of art tablets, and have reviewed and recommended them for years now, and in this article I have have put together a list of really top notch choices at all price levels.
All of the pen display tablets included here will be specially selected for the beauty and quality of their screen, the feeling and usability of the pen to screen interface, the overall design and user experience, and the material quality, long term durability and reliability of the tablet.
All of our choices will work at least with Windows and Apple macOS, and in some cases may also work with other platforms like Android or Chromebook – either way, the operating system compatibility will be clearly listed in our “At a Glance” summary for each recommendation.
All of our choices will also include a digital stylus, and have everything else you need to get started, including all cables.
In fact, you can really figure out how much you want to spend, and can rest assured that the corresponding product on our list will be a really fantastic choice, a great art tool and a great investment, and offer really good value as well.
After the list, in the Bonus section at the end of the article, I’ll talk a little bit about the best way to learn digital art – now that you’ve got your shiny new tablet! – and some really great online learning platforms.
But first the tablets, and so let’s get right to the list!
Thanks so much for reading my latest article – Best Drawing Tablet with Screen for Artists – and please check out my website – Art Side of Life – for more guides, articles, tutorials, artist interviews and tons of other resources for commercial artists, fine artists, art students and beginners, crafters and anybody else exploring their own creative side!
Other articles in the Drawing Tablets series:
- Best iPad for Drawing
- Best iPad for Procreate
- Best Drawing Tablet for Beginners
- Best Tablet for Drawing and Artists
- Best Standalone Drawing Tablet
- Best Animation Tablet
- Best Tablet for Photoshop
- Best Android Tablet for Drawing
- Best Samsung Tablet for Drawing
- Best Cheap Drawing Tablet with Screen
- Best Tablet with Pen Stylus for Drawing
- Best Large Screen Tablet for Artists
- Best Drawing Tablet for Kids
- 7 Best Digital Notepads & Smart Notebooks
- Best Note-Taking Tablet
- Wacom Tablet vs iPad Pro
- Huion vs Wacom – Which Tablet is Better?
- XP Pen vs Huion – Which Tablet is Better?
- Best Drawing Tablet Stand for Artists
- Best iPad Pro Accessories for Artists
- Best Drawing Stylus
Lis cet article en français 🇫🇷 Le meilleure tablette graphique avec ecran pour les designers en 2022
Hi, I am Iva (rhymes with “viva”). I am a full-time self-taught artist behind Art Side of Life® and a Top Teacher on Skillshare. I have 15 years of experience in the creative field as a concept designer, illustrator, art director, and now freelance artist, content creator, and art instructor. My goal is to help you get your creative groove on with Procreate and make awesome art through practical classes, tutorials, Procreate brushes, and guides on art tools, supplies and resources. About me »
