Discover the Must-Have Drawing Tablets for Every Artist

Just Buy This (All Around Best)

Wacom One 12 Pen Display

$300 at Amazon $370 $300 at Walmart $300 at Best Buy

TL;DR: The Wacom One 12 Pen Display may not offer wireless connectivity, but most creatives will enjoy this excellent quality, easy-to-use, and flexible display tablet.

Why We Recommend This

The Wacom One display continues Wacom’s tradition of quality by producing an outstanding drawing display that’s also affordable, even for students.

Since it’s a display, you can draw or paint directly on it. That is handy when working on complex projects like animations.

Once you download and install the drivers (found on the support section of its website, where you’ll find a link to a manual), it runs on either Macs or PCs.

It worked very well in my hands-on tests, whether using it to remove dust and scratches, perform other photo edits on a digital scan of an old photograph, or for traditional drawings or paintings. 

I noticed virtually no lag and consistency across apps like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. It was also handy when used with audio creation software (like Reason 12) or note-taking apps (such as Notability or Microsoft OneNote).

I enjoyed working on animations using the Wacom One, which can involve complicated interfaces. Using an easy-to-use, straightforward, portable display made the process much easier.  

I liked the quality of the screen, which is matte to minimize glare and slightly textured to mimic the texture of some watercolor papers. 

Some artists may miss having physical shortcut keys to press for repeated actions, like undoing or increasing the brush size. However, Wacom’s driver lets you program several helpful on-screen shortcuts.

For instance, you can program your pen to call up an on-screen radial menu or express menu, offering eight programmable shortcuts (save, undo, redo, step backward, step forwards, and many others).

Additionally, it lets you program additional on-screen panels, such as a keypad or app shortcuts, which will also appear on the tablet’s screen for you to touch and make an edit or change.

It does take a little time to figure out the on-screen shortcuts, but once you do, it works almost the same way as pressing a physical button on the side of the tablet.  

One additional downside is that it doesn’t have Bluetooth or wireless connectivity.

Overall, this display is an excellent addition to any artist’s toolkit and offers great value for its $300 asking price.

• Who else recommends it? TechRadar and Digital Photography Review also praise the Wacom One's feature set and performance.
• What do buyers say? On Amazon, the Wacom One has over 3,300 reviews and a 4.4-star overall rating.

Best Drawing Tablet with Bluetooth

Wacom Intuos Medium Bluetooth Graphics Drawing Tablet

$130 $90 at Amazon $200 $90 at Walmart $130 at Best Buy

TL;DR: If you’re looking for a well-designed, easy-to-use drawing tablet that’s also wireless and relatively inexpensive, this Wacom tablet should fit the bill.

Why We Recommend This

This relatively inexpensive Wacom tablet stands out because it comes with Bluetooth technology, which allows you to draw, paint, or edit photos without connecting via a USB cable.

(It also has a USB cord to connect to your computer and charge the tablet.) Although I didn’t test the battery life in Bluetooth mode, the manufacturer states it has 15 hours of battery life.   

Unlike some tablets, like the Wacom One, it has four physical short-cut buttons, which users can program for repeated actions, like undo, save, and other commands.

Once you download and install the drivers (found on the support section of its website, where you’ll find a link to a manual), it runs on either Macs or Windows machines. Overall, I found it fast to set up and easy to use.

One aspect that wasn’t as easy to use as other tablets, including the Wacom One, was adjusting driver settings, such as the pressure.

For instance, on the Wacom One, I could set the tip sensitivity for a softer or firmer feel and then test it in the test area above it, where I could draw a line to see how the change affected the line.

However, the Intuos driver didn’t have a test area to draw a line and test the new setting. 

Still, this tablet performed well in all my tests, using various imaging and drawing apps, like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter. It also worked well with audio creation software (like Reason 12) or note-taking apps (Notability or Microsoft OneNote).

• Who else recommends it? Wired and several independent artists and photographers recommend the Wacom Intuos Medium with Bluetooth for students and beginners.
• What do buyers say? The Wacom Intuos Medium with Bluetooth has over 19,000 reviews and holds an average 4.5-star rating.

Large Tablet (Splurge)

Huion Kamvas 22 Series Drawing Tablet

$449 at Amazon $349 at Walmart View on Huion.com

TL;DR: The Huion Kamvas 22 Plus is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a large drawing display tablet but don’t want to spend much money.

Why We Recommend This

I enjoyed creating traditional still-life paintings using the generously sized Huion Kamvas 22 Plus. The 21.5-inch full HD display reminded me of working with oil on canvas or pastels on paper.

It’s also handy when you’re working on complex projects like animations. 

The sturdy stand is easily adjustable and I appreciated that I could prop it up closer to 90 degrees or lay it down flatter, closer to a 45-degree angle, depending on what I was working on.

It runs on either macOS or Windows once you download and install the drivers, and worked great on various imaging and drawing apps, like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter.

It was also handy with audio creation software (like Reason 12) or note-taking apps (such as Notability or Microsoft OneNote), and comes with a pen and a pen holder, which holds extra nibs for the pen.

It’s not perfect, though. It still costs over $500, which makes it a bit pricey for a drawing tablet.

It’s also pretty heavy for a display and not very portable.

Nevertheless, for its size, quality, and power, the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus is still relatively affordable compared to models that cost more than $2,000. 

• Who else recommends it? Fstoppers and CreativeBloq agree that the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus drawing display tablet is a valuable tool for artists.
• What do buyers say? Of the over 1,700 reviews on Amazon, 77% of purchasers give the Huion Kamvas 22 Plus 5 out of 5 stars.

Easiest on the Budget

Huion Inspiroy 2 Medium Drawing Tablet

$80 at Amazon $45 at Walmart View on Huion.com

TL;DR: The Huion Inspiroy 2 gives users a lot for the money—including eight express keys, three group keys, a scroll wheel, an excellent-quality pen, and a wonderful textured surface to draw on.

Why We Recommend This

The Huion Inspiroy 2 M drawing tablet offers some very well-designed features at a low price point, making it an excellent value. 

Like most tablets, and all the ones recommended in this story, the Inspiroy 2 M can run on either macOS or Windows. However, Huion goes the extra mile and includes drivers for Linux computers.

While I found the tablet excellent for imaging and drawing apps, like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter, it was also handy with audio creation software (like Reason 12) or note-taking apps (such as Notability or Microsoft OneNote). 

I liked the textured surface of this drawing tablet. It has a slight tooth, mimicking the texture on the surface of some watercolor or pastel papers.

It also comes with an excellent selection of on-board controls. You get eight ExpressKeys (customizable buttons) and three group keys, which let you control a set of 24 shortcuts.

Additionally, you have another excellent control, the scroll wheel, which is in the middle of the eight express keys.

For example, one default setting (in one of the three groups) is to adjust brush size, which can be a great time-saver since you won’t need to switch to your keyboard. These shortcut keys are also customizable in the driver. 

Last but certainly not least, Huion also included an excellent-quality pen and a pen holder (and extra nibs) in the box, to help you keep track of this useful accessory. 

• Who else recommends it? The New York Times Wirecutter and Mighty Gadget recommend the Huion Inspiroy 2 M drawing tablet.
• What do buyers say? Amazon purchasers give the Huion Inspiroy 2 M an average 4.5-star rating based on over 600 reviews.