Drawing tablets are useful tools for a range of creatives, from photographers retouching and editing images, to animators and digital artists.

They can also be lifesavers for people who encounter some kinds of repetitive strain injury or pain while using traditional mice or laptop touchpads.

There are many tablet brands available, competition is hitting hard. And picking the brand of the tablet is one of the most important decisions you will need to make.

Some drawing tablet brands skew towards durability, while others prioritize a Innovation or affordability. Also, Some brands are worth steering clear of.

Hopefully, this list helps you make an educated decision when the time comes to pick up your next drawing tablet.

What is a drawing tablet?

A drawing tablet (aka pen tablet or graphics tablet) is a type of pen input device for computer. It is a way for artists to be able to do their work in digital form.

Drawing tablets are used in combination with many different kinds of software, including graphics, animation, note taking, photo editing, and sketching software.

Most graphics tablets have a pressure sensitive surface on which artist do their drawing work.

This pressure sensitivity ensures the tablet can sense how much pressure you’re pushing onto the screen so you can create thick to thin lines, as well as opacity of marks, for a realistic drawing experience.

The Different Types of Drawing Tablets in Brief

There are three different kinds of tablets suitable for creative work; pen tablets, interactive pen displays, and standalone drawing tablets.

Graphic tablets and interactive pen displays need to be plugged into a computer or laptop, so if you want a more portable device for your artwork, then a standalone drawing tablet is likely to be a better option.

1. pen tablets Without Screen

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

Pen tablets can all be connected with a single USB cable. Most pen tablets even support wireless connectivity – usually via Bluetooth or Wifi 2.4 GHZ.

The key skill required to use a pen tablet is that you must adjust to your hand drawing on tablet surface while you are looking at your computer monitor. So it can take some time to get used to.

Since they don’t arrive with a built-in display, they’re more robust, have a lower price point and are more portable. As such, graphics tablets are the perfect choice for frequent travellers.

If you’re a beginner, consider using a pen tablet such as Wacom intuos, Huion Inspiroy, XPPen Deco, etc. You can get a decent one under $100.

2. interactive pen displays

These tablets include a built-in screen, allowing the user to see the digital art, graphics, or designs as they are created.

Direct pen to screen drawing is much better or more intuitive than having to train your hand to draw on a non screen tablet. It’s just a nice drawing experience.

However, pen displays are usually heavy, bulky, and need to connect to be connected to a computer to work, which makes tidying them away more difficult, as well as travelling with them.

interactive pen displays are usually more expensive than pen tablets, ranging from $200 to $2,000 or even more. Well-known options include Wacom Cintiq, Huion Kamvas and XPPen Artist.

They are often used by professional designers, architects, illustrators, and artists for digital art and graphic design.

3. standalone drawing tablets

Standalone drawing tablets allow you to draw on the screen, without the need to plug it into another computer.

The standalone drawing tablet like iPad is great for being out and about. You can draw from life from a coffee shop or a town square.

There are some limitations to using a standalone tablet, the biggest of which is software. You’re limited to whatever’s available in the operating system’s app store, and multitasking can be difficult.

The good news is that the drawing and graphic design app options have gotten better on iPadOS and Android over the years.

All 9 Popular Drawing Tablet Brands and Their Sites

To choose the best drawing tablet brands suitedfor you, We look at all of the major players in the market from Wacom, and Huion to XPPen and more.

Here is every major drawing tablet brand ranked from best to worst.

1. Wacom

Wacom is by far one of the oldest and most recognizable. The company was founded in japan in 1983.

Wacom has developed a very loyal fan base because of its long history, and its range of drawing tablets are considered by many to be the industry standard due to their performance, build quality, and reliable driver software.

The Wacom Intuos and Cintiq range especially has been the gold standard drawing tablet across professional creative industries, despite numerous competing products emerging over the years.

Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, Wacom offers a wide range of pen tablets for every level and budget – from the entry-level budget-friendly wacon one series, middle-range wacom intuos/Cintiq, to the powerful Wacom Cintiq Pro and Wacom Mobile Studio Pro (standalone, discontinued).

However, Wacom is overpriced to shit compared to what they offer and compared to the competition.

If you want the best of the best, and you’re willing to pay, then the Wacom is what you’re looking for. Although expensive, you get what you pay for, which is an incredible build quality, reliable software, and an excellent drawing experience.

Wacom Official Site: wacom.com

2. Huion

Huion is a chinese company, which was established in shenzhen in 2011. Its logo is a representation of 3 pencils. The number three symbolizes in the Chinese culture “stability, balance, the tripartite confrontation and development”.

If you’re shopping on a budget, but still want a quality drawing tablet, look no further than huion. Huion tablets have come a long way in the last decade or so. You can select the right model that fits your demand.

At this moment, it has a total of three series: Inspiroy for pen tablets, Kamvas for interactive pen displays, and Kamvas Studio for standalone pen computer.

Huion has made a big splash in the tablet world with its Kamvas range, comprising tablets that offer a notable step up in quality from other brand products.

These professional-grade tablets are equipped with superb 2.5K or even 4K colorful display that provides crisp detail while drawing, able to challenge Wacom Cintiq Pro series, and can be picked up for a cheaper price.

Huion Official Site: huion.com

3. XPPen

XPPen (aka xp pen or xp-pen) is another well-known Chinese brand that makes great, budget-friendly, drawing tablets. It was originally founded in Japan in 2005 and is now affiliated with a parent Chinese company, Hanvon Ugee.

Right now, XPPen company provides tablets from multi different series: Star and Deco Series non-screen pen Tablets, Artist and Artist Pro Series Display tablets, and XPPen Magic Drawing Pad (Standalone tablet).

XPPen is offering a lot of kit (hotkeys, tablet stand, pen case, etc) that other brands, such as Wacom, charge extra for, which is why many artists on a budget love it, as it’s affordable, well-made and reliable.

At the same time, XPPen has been improving its quality a lot, and while it may not has reached Wacom quite yet, it creeps closer every year.

Such as XPPen Artist Pro Gen 2 line, which is a pretty good cheap alternative to a Wacom Cintiq with some better aspects: highest 16K pressure levels, professional color gamut, 165HZ refresh rate, better parallax, etc.

Additionally, XPPen is currently the only company which offers company-developed Linux drivers. As a comparison, Wacom’s Linux drivers are community-developed, and are not actually official drivers.

XPPen Official Site: xp-pen.com

4. Xencelabs

Xencelabs is a relative newcomer to the graphics tablet market, but it’s already making massive waves. It can match wacom for quality and performance but with much lower price.

Xencelabs boast among their roster a number of Wacom alumni, who have brought their tablet design nous to this newer brand.

Xencelabs developed about 6 different tablet models, 2 of them have a display surface.

Its flagship Pen Tablet can be used both wired or wirelessly, and it gently slopes into an ergonomic palm rest to prevent your hands from aching during use.

Its flagship Pen Display is also nice, 16 or 24 inches, Pro-level Color space, 4k resolution, fully-laminated, Etched glass surface, all fine. This undoubtedly will meet the needs of professional creatives.

The real value comes from buying the bundle package, though — the Xencelabs Pen Tablet or display Bundle provides not one but two different styluses (one slim and one chunky).

And a wireless Quick Keys, the brand’s fancy macro pad accessory with eight programmable buttons, a physical dial, and a LED digital display.

Although Xencelabs is also a chinese brand and is affiliated with Hanvon Ugee, it is much more expensive than all other Chinese brands include Huion and XPPen.

If you have some financial flexibility and are looking for a cheaper wacom alternative that somehow feels more premium, the Xencelabs is well worth considering.

Xencelabs Official Site: xencelabs.com

5. GAOMON

Since our establishment in 2011, GAOMON has developed dozens of digital drawing products that have found applications in various fields.

Gaomon and Huion are the same company, but gaomon belongs to the low-end product line – Sometimes pens can be used interchangeably. It is clearly trying to serve the market for artist’s who are looking for cheaper Wacom alternatives.

Despite their cheap prices, Gaomon products have great build quality. You may have heard of or seen Gaomon s620 tablet and PD1161 display that are very popular.

If you’re on a budget but wants the same tech as a higher priced model. Go for Gaomon. But don’t expect new, cutting-edge features from their products.

GAOMON Official Site: gaomon.com

6. UGEE

UGEE, founded in shenzhen, in 1998, is one of the leading digital hardware and software developers in China.

For over twenty years Ugee have been developing affordable digital drawing pen tablets and displays, same as GAOMON, it belongs to the low-end product line.

Just as you guessed, Ugee, XPPen and xencelabs belong to same company. XPPen is responsible for mid-range, while Xencelabs is a newly opened high-end product line.

Last year, The Ugee m908 Digital Pen Tablet is making waves with its ridiculously low price point and big performance promises.

UGEE Official Site: ugee.com

7. Veikk

Founded in china in 2009, VEIKK provides affordable pen displays & pen tablets for beginners and artists on a budget.

It’s true, The Pen tablets and Displays from Veikk is a fraction of the cost of nearly every other competing tablet and offers a lot more punch than you would expect.

Their mission is equip and inspire everyone to make the world a more creative place.

However, Veikk is not well-known, and many people may not have heard of it.

Veikk Official Site: veikk.com

8. Parblo

Established in shenzhen in 2015, Parblo is a manufacturer specializing in develops and produces of pen displays and graphics tablets.

In their favor they have that they are specialized in graphics tablets and that they provide products of different price ranges aimed at different users, whether beginners or professionals.

Compared to other brands, it has limited products and is less well-known, similar to veikk.

Parblo Official Site: parblo.com

9. Artisul

Artisul drawing tablets are designed in the USA, made by UC Logic which is Taiwanese, part of the Sysero Group which is UK-based.

Artisul is derived from “Art is soul.” Their mission is to help creative individuals express themselves through art for the modern era.

Although Artisul is not well-known, it has a history of more than 20 years on making digital drawing tablets.

The Artisul brand offers some very good value for money pen displays like 15.6-inch Artisul D16 Pro.

They are an option to consider if you are looking for a tablet with a screen with good performance but you do not want to spend a lot of money.

Artisul Official Site: artisul.com

How many brands are in Standalone Drawing Tablets?

Standalone drawing tablets are usually made by generalist tech brands such as Apple, Microsoft and Samsung. You must have heard of their names.

Especially the Apple iPad Pro, which has gained a positive reputation among creative professionals thanks to its dedicated art apps like Procrete + excellent Ultra Retina XDR OLED screen, powerful performance, and precise Apple pencil.

Brands like Wacom and Huion offers windows tablet workstations — essentially 13 or 16-inch display tablets with built-in computer, same as microsoft surface pro.

In 2024, XPPen also launches its own standalone drawing tablet – Magic Drawing Pad, runs on android 12 – same as samsung galaxt tab S9, this mixes dedicated drawing tablet tech with its mobile CPU to run apps like ArtRage Viate from the device.

Having an all in one, lightweight device means keeping around isnt a chore – perfect for drawing on the go and you can use it for other purposes like taking notes, watching video, streaming, reading, etc.

Reasons to avoid these standalone tablets are expensive price tag, smaller than pen displays, with Limited art apps, drawing on gloss screens can be ‘slippery’, not all are specifically designed for digital art.

Conclusion

Looking for some new drawing tablets to try? These are the leading brands in the drawing tablet market, each offering unique products.

Brand reputation is an essential factor to consider when purchasing drawing tablets online. A brand with a positive reputation indicates that its products are reliable and high-quality.

You can do this by reading online reviews for the drawing tablet brand of your choice. These reviews will give you a good idea of how well the drawing tablet brand’s products work, as well as what customers think of them.

Wacom is a beloved brand among professional digital artists and graphic designers due to the build quality and reliability of its product.

If you can’t afford wacom, There are lots of drawing tablet brands to choose from in the ‘budget’ category, and the best Huion tablets as well as those from XPPen and Xencelabs are excellent options.

If you want the flexibility of an all-in-one drawing device, you have a handful of big brand options: Apple, Samsung and Microsoft.

Many drawing tablet brands include Yiynova, Monoprice, Turcom, Acepen, Trust, Genius, Yutron and more that were once popular have disappeared forever. You will not be able to get driver updates and after-sales service. So try to avoid buying products from unknown or low-market brands.

Finally, When buying a specific drawing tablet, Brand isn’t the only factor to consider other key factors to consider include tablet size, screen resolution, pen sensitivity and accuracy, connection, etc.

Happy Drawing!

Also Read: Good Cheap Graphics Tablets for Beginners Under $100