Best Drawing Tablets With Screen 2023

Graphics tablet market is growing at a good pace and is expected to reach USD991.86 million by 2028 from estimated USD536.25 million in 2022 as per reports. As the demand is rising, more players are entering the same market with better features and specs.

best drawing tablets with screen

If we talk about drawing tablets, they can be categorized as;

  • Drawing Tablet Without Screen (Pen Tablet)
  • Drawing Tablet With Screen (Pen Display)
  • Standalone Drawing Tablet (Pen Computer)

Let’s discuss them in brief. So, the first one are the drawing tablets without screen, the most basic ones for beginners and starts from as low as $40 and goes up to $500(Wacom Intuos Pro Large). The third one (explaining second one in detail below) are the standalone drawing tablets – can also be called as drawing computers. They don’t require a computer (as the name says, STAND-ALONE) and you can carry it alone anywhere to create designs.

Coming to the second one i.e. drawing tablets with screen, also called as pen displays are the graphics tablets with display but still they require a computer to get started. In short, you can see the computer screen on tablet and create graphics more precisely and easily. In this article, we’ll be discussing some of the best drawing tablets with screen, their specs and more details.

Top Players in Graphics Tablet

Years ago, there was only one player in the graphics tablet market i.e. WACOM. After success of Wacom, other players entered the market – XP-Pen in 2005, Huion in 2011 and Xencelabs in 2019. There are other brands like Gaomon, UGEE, Parblo, etc… but are not as popular as top players.

Wacom is a market leader following Huion, XP-Pen and then Xencelabs. Xencelabs don’t have that much market share as they are pricey but their graphics tablets are of great build quality and performance. We recommend Wacom and Xencelabs to professional graphics designers while XP-Pen and Huion to beginners and the ones who are still learning and growing.

Best Drawing Tablets With Screen

We have covered the market overview of graphic tablets and have also discussed the top brands above. Let’s have a look at the top best performing drawing tablets with screen below;

1. Wacom Cintiq 16

wacom cintiq 16

With 15.6-inch screen size, Cintiq 16 still stands at the top as the best drawing tablet with screen. It has a Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS display with 210 cd/m2 brightness and 72% NTSC (96% sRGB). The dimensions of tablet are 16.6 x 11.2 x 1.0 inch and weighs 1.9kg without stand.

Cintiq 16 comes with Wacom Pro Pen 2 that has 8192 levels of pressure levels, 60 degrees of tilt support, 5080 LPI resolution and 2 side switches. The tablet has 3-in-1 cable port (1.8m is included) and is compatible with Windows 7 or later and macOS X 10.12 or later.

Pros:

  • Battery-free stylus
  • No lag

Cons:

  • Low resolution (No 4K)
  • No press keys

2. XP-Pen Artist 13.3 Pro

xp-pen artist 13.3 pro

One of the best-selling graphics tablet on amazon, Artist 13.3 Pro comes with 8 shortcut keys and 1 roller wheel. The working area (screen size) of the tablet is 11.6 x 6.5 inch with 1920 x 1080 pixels FHD resolution and 88% NTSC (91% Adobe RGB, 123% sRGB).

The battery-free PA2 stylus comes with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 LPI resolution and supports 60 degrees of tilt. One of the best part of Artist 13.3 Pro is it’s compatibility with Chrome OS and Linux along with Windows and macOS.

Pros:

  • Fully-laminated FHD display
  • Affordable
  • Color Gamut: 88% NTSC
  • OS compatibility

Cons:

  • Needs 3 ports on PC for connection

3. Huion Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K)

huion kamvas pro 16 2.5k pen display

With 2.5K QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution 15.8-inch IPS screen, Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K) is a perfect pen display tablet for digital artists and graphic designers. It comes with 8 programmable press keys and ST200 foldable stand.

The battery-free PW517 comes with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080LPI resolution, 10mm sensing height and ±60° tilt support. You can connect tablet with a desktop PC via three-in-two cable and laptop, tablet or phone via USB-C cable. Kamvas Pro 16 is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux and Android devices.

Pros:

  • QHD display resolution
  • USB-C connection
  • Affordable

Cons:

  • USB-C plus power connection is also required

4. Xencelabs Pen Display 24

xencelabs-pen-display-24

A tablet for studio quality drawing experience, Xencelabs’s Pen Display 4 comes with a 4K UHD Pantone and SkinTone validated display. Perfect for professionals, this tablet has active working area (screen size) of 20.75 x 11.7 inch with 330cd/m2 brightness.

One of the most unique part of Pen Display 24 is that it comes with 2 pens – 3-button pen v2 + eraser and Thin pen v2 + eraser. The pen pressure is of 8192 levels, resolution of 5080LPI and a tilt support of 60 degrees.

Pros:

  • Pantone validated display
  • Quick Keys
  • 2 Pens

Cons:

  • Pricey

5. Wacom One

wacom one hd _DTC133W0A

Wacom One is a 13.3-inch drawing tablet with screen for the ones who wants to own Wacom anyhow as it comes with a bit lower specs that Huion and xp-pen at the same cost. It comes with a 1920 x 1080 pixels display resolution, 220 cd/m2 brightness and 72% NTSC.

If we talk about the pen, Wacom One EMR pen has 4096 pressure levels, 2540LPI resolution, 60 degrees tilt support and 26ms of response time. The tablet is compatible with Windows, Mac and Android.

Pros:

  • Battery-free pen
  • Good display resolution

Cons:

  • Low pen pressure levels
  • Low pen resolution

6. Gaomon PD1161

gaomon pd1161

Gaomon PD1161, the portable pen display tablet with 11.6-inch screen, is perfect for roaming artists. The tablet comes with a FHD (1920 x 1080) display resolution, 72% NTSC color gamut and 220cd/m2 brightness.

The stylus with battery-free electromagnetic resonance pen technology has a good pen resolution of 5080LPI (greater than Wacom One), 8192 pressure levels, ±60° tilt and report rate ≥ 266PPS. You will get a pen display, AP50 digital box, 3-in-2 cable, pen holder, 8 x pen nibs, power adapter and a quick start guide in the box.

Pros:

  • Best value
  • FHD resolution
  • Portable

Cons:

  • Tricky connection

Conclusion

Choosing the best drawing tablet with screen is a bit tricky task as there are lots of options available in the market with the same display sizes in different brands. For example, if we just talk about Huion then there are more than 4 16-inch Huion pen displays. So, we have shortlisted some of the top best drawing tablets with screen above.

Cintiq 16 is the best overall drawing tablet with screen for almost all types of artists and graphic designers. Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is a pricey tablet and is perfect for professional graphic designers while Huion, xp-pen and Gaomon tablets are affordable ones and hence are perfect for good artists as well as beginners.

8 thoughts on “Best Drawing Tablets With Screen 2023”

  1. Holloo.
    Is there any recommendations for a standalone tablet to use with sketchbook pro, fusion 360 and note taking with a stylus?

    Thank you!!

    Reply
  2. Looking for an entry level drawing tablet for my son who is very interested in his art. Any recommendations would be a great help. He showed me the Huion Kamvas Pro 20 (2019) but this might be overkill on size and cost. The Huion Kamvas 16 in your review looks good.

    Reply
    • Hello Kevin,

      If he is just starting with the digital art, you should get him a pen tablet instead of pen display. Once he get his hands on art, you can get him a pen display. You can get a good entry level Pen tablet for around $50-$100.

      Reply
  3. We are looking for a tablet to be used with a laptop for classes, we would like to be able to project work and write on it. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  4. I have the Wacom 27 Pro and it is definitely not worth the cost. Additionally, the poor resolution and limited color range makes it difficult to work with. I would put the value of this screen to 1500 at best…but that will still not address the low resolution issue.

    Reply

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