There is nothing like drawing and painting directly on screen, feels natural, a bit like pen-on-paper, making it a perfect choice for those transitioning from traditional art to digital art.
The XP-Pen Artist series graphic display tablets have always been loved by digital artists on a tight budget. They are very similar to Wacom Cintiq, but about half or even a third the price.
Even better, Its latest offerings since 2021 are very usable for creative tasks, which can even compete with Wacom Cintiq in terms of the quality of drawing experience.
If you want a XP-Pen screen tablet but don’t know which one to get. you come to the right place!
In this guide, I’ll highlight the pen displays XPPen (aka xp pen or XP-Pen) offers and recommend the best tablets based on use case, price, value, and technology.
7 Best XP Pen Screen Tablet Recommendations
Let’s now see our list of best XPPen drawing pen tablets for beginners 2025 (with display).
1. XPPen Artist 12 2nd Gen
If you want a portable pen display that’s small and thin enough to carry around with your lightweight laptop, then the XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd Gen) is a perfect choice.
It is economical, easy to set up, durable, and compatible with most digital art software and OS versions.
Artist 12 (2nd Gen) comes with a 11.9-inch FHD, IPS, full-laminated, matte, slightly textured screen that claims to offer precision and color accuracy on a budge.
Additionally, it features 8 programmable tablet buttons for optimal customization options. As for connectivity, it supports either Single USB-C cable or 3-in-1 cable.
Although not as good as the newer X3 Pro stylus, the included X3 Elite pen is accurate and responsive for retouching and just doodling or drafting. The pressure sensitivity and tilt accuracy is excellent.
Artist 12 (2nd Gen) is available in 3 other display variants – the 10.1″, 13.3” and 15.4”, All versions have similar tech features to streamline your creative session.
2. XPPen Artist Pro 14 GEN 2
The XPPen Artist Pro 14(Gen 2) sports a great 14-inch laiminated IPS screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, 99% SRGB color gamut and a full HD 1920 x 1200 resolution.
The tablet also comes in X-Nature Display, which feels and performance much like you are using a pen and paper instead of a digital tablet.
The tablet itself feels sturdy and professional, has a chunky build, and is cased in sleek space-grey colouring. You can connect it to a computer via a single usb-c cable.
Its X3 Pro smart chip Pen supports 16,384 pressure sensitivity levels, which is the industry best. Moreover, it features 60 degrees of tilt angles. This combination offers improved precision and performance.
At $399.99, the XPPen Artist Pro 14 (Gen 2) Pen Display—geared to amateur artists, note-takers, and doodlers. For a tablet of this price it’s great to feel like you’ve got your money’s worth.
3. XPPen Artist Pro 16 Gen 2
The XPPen Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) blends exceptional technology, superior drawing experience, and advanced features with a user-friendly design to deliver a robust tool for artists.
What sets this pen display apart from the rest is the stunning display.
Featuring 97% Adobe RGB and 99% DCI-P3 coverage, the display provides realistic accuracy, especially with the color tones and appearance.
It also has a resolution of 2560×1600 on 15.4-inch screen, which is a decent improvement over the first-gen tablet (FHD) and ensures crisp and clear visuals.
Combine this pro display with the advanced X3 Pro smart chip stylus, you’ll get an unparalleled drawing experience.
Whether you’re an industry veteran or a budding enthusiast, Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) is an invaluable companion for your creative journey.
4. XPPen Artist Pro 19 Gen 2
If there’s one best pen display tablets for professional users, the XP-Pen Artist Pro 19 GEN 2 takes the crown.
One of its key strengths is the display. The 18.4-inch screen is not only large enough to give artists ample workspace, but it’s also praised for its quality.
With a 4K UHD resolution that surpasses expectations, it provides a clear and vibrant canvas for all forms of digital art.
The X3 pro pen is another highlight, offering high pressure sensitivity and smooth tapering, which are essential for precise and nuanced artwork.
XP-Pen Artist Pro 19 GEN 2 offers a blend of quality, functionality, and affordability, making it a worthy investment for creatives seeking a reliable and efficient digital drawing experience.
5. XPPen Artist 22 Plus
The xppen artist 22 plus is an excellent creative pen display that offers a high-quality 21.5-inch FHD display and a responsive pen, Ideal for creative beginners who want ample space for their artwork.
It stands out with a 130% sRGB native color space and 103% Adobe RGB color gamut coverage, offering color accuracy comparable to high-end displays, like MacBooks.
The anti-glare matte film, fully laminated screen and reduced parallax contribute to a pleasant drawing experience, enhancing accuracy and natural feel despite the display’s lower resolution.
It uses the new X3 pro smart chip pen. The stylus has 16,384 levels of pressure and it’s tilt sensitive, which allows you to draw strokes precisely.
It supports HDMI or single USB-C cable connection, have a sturdy built-in adjustable tablet stand, Standing stable at every angle, showcase your artistic skills in the most promising manner.
6. XPPen Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2)
XPPen Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) is exclusively designed for the creative professionals who don’t want to compromise on their user experience.
The refreshed tablet boasts two different versions: one offers an industry-first fast refresh rate of 165Hz while the other is a Calman verified 4K resolution version.
The 165Hz refresh rate (with 2.5K resolution) ensures there’s no flickering or motion blur, which makes a significant difference when working on fast, dynamic visuals.
The 4K UHD resolution is super sharp and provides incredible detail, although you’ll want to make sure your computer can handle it smoothly.
In addition, you get two styluses with x3 pro smart chip, one is standard with a silicone grip while the other one is slimer. This is a nice surprise.
7. XPPen Magic Drawing Pad
Are you a digital artist who has to travel a lot? If yes, then you must check out XPPen Magic Drawing Pad.
The XPPen Magic Drawing Pad is a standalone drawing tablet that eliminates the need of a second device and will give you more portability, similar precision.
This Android 12 based tablet features 8GB of memory and uses a Octa-core MT8771 processor. It enables you to run various painting software and applications smoothly.
Its 11-inch IPS display boasts a 2160 x 1440 resolution and supports a 109% sRGB color gamut, making it a great option for providing detailed picture quality.
To unlock your creativity, the XPPen Magic Drawing Pad comes with the paired X3 pro smart chip stylus, which offers precise pen strokes and tilt sensing to simulate the feel of a real brush.
Its slim design and lightweight build (starting at 599 grams) provide portability. The bulit-in 8,000 mAh high-capacity battery enables you to work up to 10 hours without any interruptions in between.
What is the difference between XPPen Artist Pro Gen 1 and Gen 2?
The XPPen Artist Pro (gen 2) is a huge upgrade over the previous Gen 1 in many ways.
Connection: Artist Pro Gen 1 only support 3-in-1 cable for connection while Gen 2 support both 3-in-1 cable and single usb-c cable.
Design: Artist Pro Gen 1 usually features few hotkeys and a red roller wheel on the left side, while Artist Pro Gen 2 doesn’t have any embedded buttons on the tablet.
The ACK05 wireless shortcut remote is an extra. This Shortcut Remote comes with a dial switch and 10 keys that can be customized into any action, and it allows you to program 4 different sets of shortcuts.
Stylus Pen: Artist Pro Gen 1 comes with PA2 battery stylus which support 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt reponse.
On the other hand, Artist Pro Gen 2 features X3 Pro smart chip stylus, which support 16,384 pressure sensitivity levels, and tilt recognition.
The X3 Pro Smart Chip is a complete game-changer. It is smarter, better, faster, and more accurate than PA2 pen (no smart chip inside).
Screen Quality: no matter what size it is, Artist Pro Gen 1 comes with 1920 x 1080 resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and around 120% SRGB color gamut.
The screen is fully-laminated to reduce parallax, but the surface is covered with an anti-glare matte screen film instead of etched glass surface.
Artist Pro Gen 2 comes with 1920 x 1200, 2560×1600 or even 4K UHD resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and wider color gamut, depending on the model. The screen quality is better for creating professional artwork.
The screen is also fully-laminated, but the surface is covered with etched glass surface, which has better wear and corrosion resistance than AG film. of course, better drawing experience due to the more e realistic paper texture.
What is the difference between XPPen Artist 2nd generation and Artist pro Gen 2?
The biggest difference between XPPen Artist pro Gen 2 and Artist 2nd Generation and is the X3 Pro stylus (2nd gen) vs X3 Elite Stylus (1st gen). Both features X3 smart chip.
X3 Pro smart chip stylus is an upgraded version based on the X3 Elite stylus, which has optimized and improved many aspects of X3 Elite’s already high performance.
The pressure level has increased by 100%, from 8192 levels of pressure to 16384 levels, which is the world’s first 16K level pressure technology.
20% higher accuracy and 1.5 times faster than previous model-X3 smart chip stylus. In addition, You get a digital eraser on the back end.
Does the XPPen Artist screen tablet need a computer?
Yes, you will need an additional computer to use XPPen Artist. typically a Windows or Mac. You will need a HDMI or USB-C cable to connect to this device.
You can also connect XPPen Artist screen tablet to a chromebook or an android phone/tablet in order to work, but therie is no pressure sensitivity or express key features available.
Can an XP-Pen tablet work without a computer?
XPPen Magic Drawing Pad is a standalone drawing tablet that works without the need for a computer connection, allowing artists to work anywhere and anytime–no cords attached.
It runs on Android and has a midrange 8-core MT8771 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, making it suitable for most drawing applications.
Is Wacom Cintiq better than XP-Pen Artist?
This really depends. Wacom Cintiq tablets are still fantastic pieces of pen display to have. However, Wacom in recent years have been criticised for High prices of their tablets and lack of innovation.
On the other hand, Competition has increased from the chinese drawing pad brands like XP-Pen. The Specs for most models are generally quite similar now, so the difference in technical specification is less than it used to be.
Fundamentally you need to use what you feel comfortable with. XP-Pen Artist tablets are fantastic choices for beginners or artists on a budget looking to get into screen drawing tablets and digital painting.
Conclusion
These all XP-Pen Artist tablets have different sets of features and specifications. You can go with any of it if it fits in your budget and provides what you need.
XP-Pen has improved its more serious, professional tablets to the point where they seriously compete with Wacom’s flagship models.
For less than half the price, the XPPen offers the same or, in some cases, slightly better specifications, more features, and a more complete user interface.
In my opinion, the drawing or painting experience on modern Wacom and XPPen screen tablets has been practically indistinguishable.
In addition, XPPen Artist Screen tablet functions smoothly without any big bugs or issues. The drivers are also updated regularly for your convenience.
Overall it is an excellent deal considering the afforability, durability, and product support.
