Drawing tablets have become an essential tool for numerous art industries including in animation, graphic design, illustration, and more, allowing artists to access programs and create work with greater versatility than ever before.

Are you new to digital drawing or a hobbyist? Perhaps, you just have a tight budget and are looking for an affordable drawing tablet?

Purchasing cheap drawing tablets don’t always have to mean sacrificing value or quality. In fact, there are plenty of super cheap tablets under $50 that are great for functionality and performance.

Here, I have put together a list for you, so you can start your digital art journey without breaking the bank.

10 Cheapest Drawing Tablets Under $50 – Start Digital Art on a Budget

Gone are the days when buying a drawing tablet meant breaking the bank.

Now, you can get several affordable drawing tablets under $50 that’ll plug right into your laptop to work.

1. One by Wacom Small

The general consensus is that Wacom is the best brand with high build quality and pen experience. And This model is the cheapest one you can get from wacom.

One by Wacom Small pen tablet is lightweight, uncomplicated and stylish, making it an excellent choice for those early in their creative career.

With an active working area of 6.0 x 3.7 inch, It is a sweet spot between having enough room for detailed designs and not being overly cumbersome for those cafe work sessions.

The battery-free pen supports up to 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Line performance is still very good, and more than enough for photo editing.

2. UGEE S640

The Ugee S640 is a small, affordable graphics pen tablet with features comparable to the Wacom Intuos.

The design and layout are good, the build quality is excellent, the drawing area of 6.5X4 inch is adequate for use with laptops.

The pen performance is above its league with high 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity as well as tilt detection.

The best part is S640 tablet features ten shortcut keys, which can be a massive boost in productivity.

3. UGEE M908

The Ugee m908 is an amazing pen tablet with its ridiculously low price point and big performance promises.

The drawing area is very big at 10 x 6.25 inches and this pairs well with most display sizes up to 27-inches.

Besides the 8 hotkeys, Its unique dial allows an improved creation experience with added functions like zooming and scrolling your projects.

With up to 16K levels pressure sensibility and 60° tilt recognition, the precise stylus provides realistic strokes, from thick to thin.

4. XPPen Deco 640

XPPen Deco 640 is a simple, good quality small tablet (6″ x 4″ active area) for a price that really can’t be beat.

This budget-friendly tablet boasts some of the same features as its more expensive competitors, including 8 touch buttons, tilt support and 16K pressure levels.

If you don’t know, It is an upgraded version of the well-known XPPen Star G640 with a thicker thickness of 8mm and better tech specs but even cheaper price.

5. XPPen Deco Mini7 V2

If you’re a fan of the XPPen Deco 01 V3, XPPen Deco Mini7 V2 is a smaller variant with 7 x 4.37 inches active area.

Thanks to its small footprint, it’s very easy to stash the drawing tablet in a bag, backpack, or large pocket of your choice.

Its technical specs are very comprehensive: 16K pressure levels, tilt sensitivity, 8 hotkeys, wide compatibility, etc.

The feeling of drawing on it was really nice and comfortable and it was very precise pressure sensitivity-wise.

6. XPPen Deco M

The XPPen Deco Medium is a nice looking graphics tablet with good drawing performance.

Compare to the Deco 640 and Deco mini 7 V2, the Deco Medium provides a wider active area of 8×5-inch for drawing & photo editing!

The advanced X3 Elite Smart Chip Stylus that features lower 3g IAF is very pressure sensitive with even the slightest touch, allowing for intricate detailing and smooth brush strokes.

7. Veikk Voila L

The Veikk Voila L is a versatile, affordable drawing tablet that’s worth buying even if for only occasional use.

Its rugged and simple design and inbuilt dial make it very simple to use out of the box. At the same time, its big 10 x 6-inch working area provides ample space for your creative expression.

The stylus has a 60 degree tilt function, which allows for ease of use when shading. And its 8K levels of pressure sensitivity is brilliant, especially for a sub-$50 tablet.

8. Veikk S640

Veikk S640 is a very affordable pen tablet, and excellent for new artists starting out with digital art.

6×4 inch active area, only 2mm thick, small and compact,easily fits into a laptop case or in a briefcase, convenient to carry it with you on the go.

With EMR tech, 8192 levels of pen pressure, and tilt sensitivity, you can draw, sketch or sketch smoothly without worrying about charging.

9. Huion H640P

Huion Inspiroy H640P is a really handful graphic tablet. It’s pretty cheap, portable and has a good quality.

The H640P tablet has a compact active area of 6×4 inch, 6 HotKeys and a decent stylus pen that supports 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

If you are a newbie and this is the first time you buy graphic tablet, without hesitation, I will recommend this graphic tablet to you.

10. Huion H420X

With a compact working area of 4.17×2.6 inches, Huion H420X is a mini drawing tablet that can me used for playing Osu!, photo editing, writing, annotating pdf, note taking, Signature, etc.

Althought it’s very affordable at only 20 dollars, The battery-free pen is pretty comfort and responsive with 8192 pressure levels, no issues.

If you want to use H420X tablet for drawing and painting, I don’t recommend it. It is quite difficult to avoid having a shaking hand because of how small the tablet drawing space is.

Are Budget Drawing Tablets Worth It?

Yes! Budget drawing tablets today are surprisingly powerful and can meet the needs of most digital artists, such as the battery-free EMR stylus, 8192 pressure levles, tilt support, hotkeys, etc.

If you’re a beginner, hobbyist, or even a pro on a tight budget, you don’t need to splurge on a high-end Wacom intuos pro tablet when great alternatives exist.

However, if you want a more premium experience – more precise stylus, premium design, bluetooth, multi-touch, etc, you may need to save up for a higher-end model in the future.

Final Thoughts

No matter what your reason is, affordable pen tablets may be the drawing accessories for you.

Finding the best budget drawing tablet doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality.

If you have not tried good cheap drawing tablets before, you might as well grab one and give it a go as you literally have nothing to lose!

Whether you go for the Veikk Voila L for its amazing price-to-performance ratio or the XPPen Deco Medium for an excellent pen drawing experience, there’s something for everyone.

Choose wisely, and happy drawing!

Explore More: 6 Best Budget Drawing Tablets with Screen