The best drawing tablets for 2024

Creative pen tablets and displays — sometimes called “drawing tablets” — are essential tools for creative professionals or hobbyists across industries, from comics to animation to film to photography to graphic design to architecture — and beyond. When you’re working at a high level and need ergonomics, precision, and innovative features to level up your creative workflow, a mouse or trackpad just isn’t going to cut it.

These are the best drawing tablets for 2024 — whether you’re a student, beginner, hobbyist, amateur, or professional — no matter what type of creativity you’re pursuing.

Jump menu -> students | art students & enthusiasts | beginners | amateure creatives  | hobbyist | professional creatives

Why should I get a drawing tablet?

If you want to get serious about your digital art, a mouse, trackpad, or finger just isn’t going to cut it. You need the precision and control so your creation conforms to your exact vision. You need the pressure sensitivity to mimic the fluid controls of traditional art media. You need the ergonomics for long creative sessions. And you need the efficiency digital art makes possible — ExpressKeys, shortcuts, and digital collaboration. 

Which drawing tablet is right for me?

The best creative pen display or pen tablet will depend on your specific needs, preferences, and workflow. Consider all of these options:

• What you create
• Your budget
• Pen tablet vs. Pen display
• The size of the device’s active area or display
• The level of pen sensitivity and precision
• Keys and shortcut options for added workflow customization

Below, we’ve broken down the best options for you depending on whether you’re a beginner, a pro, or somewhere in between.

The best drawing tablet for students: One by Wacom

With its simple USB connection, One by Wacom is easy to use. It’s Works with Chromebook™ certified, so you won’t have to download or fiddle with drivers – just plug it in and go.

Available in two convenient sizes, it also works with Mac OS, Windows, and some Android devices, too. The battery-free pen never needs charging, and 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity are plenty for basic photo editing, digital drawing like comics or fanart, taking notes or marking up documents, or jazzing up classroom presentations. It even comes with a suite of educational software for 21st-century teachers. 

The best drawing tablet for beginners: Wacom One

With a Wacom One pen tablet, passionate early creatives of all kinds get more than just a first-class creative tool. It’s customizable: choose the perfect pen color combo on the redesigned Wacom One pen to match their style. It’s convenient and portable: whether via Bluetooth or USB-C, Wacom One is compatible with Mac, PC, most Chromebooks, and even some Android devices.  

Whether for designing flyers for a garage band’s next show, making social media content pop, or learning the art of digital painting, a Wacom One pen tablet is the perfect partner to bring creative passions to life. And it comes with so much more: every purchase includes free trials to a suite of creative and educational software programs, as well as exclusive access to tips, video tutorials, and resources in the Wacom One Adventure program and a trial of Skillshare to extend learning even further. 

The best drawing tablet for hobbyists: Wacom Intuos

Wacom Intuos is designed for anyone who’s getting a little more serious about digital drawing, designing, or editing. The battery-free pen, with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, is much more precise and comfortable to use than a mouse. It’s lightweight, sturdy, and the built-in ExpressKeys mean it can be totally customized with keyboard shortcuts. Both sizes are super-portable, especially the Bluetooth Wireless versions – and Android compatibility makes it even more convenient on the go.

Available in multiple sizes and colors, as well as wired and Bluetooth versions, there’s a Wacom Intuos for everyone – art school students refining their digital process on the way to future creative stardom, digital nomad freelancers who need a portable, powerful creative input device, or photographers looking for a capable, durable tablet for when they’re editing on location. No matter who they are, Wacom Intuos can help bring their creative passions to life.

The best drawing tablet for enthusiasts: Wacom One

A Wacom One pen display is perfect for anyone who wants to level up their creative expression with the intuitive experience of drawing directly on screen. The redesigned and updated Wacom One pen is precise, powerful, and customizable, and the full HD display is bright and vibrant. The 13” size also supports multi-touch gesture controls, nearly unheard of at this price point. 

It’s an excellent choice for beginning enthusiasts doing digital drawing, content creation, video editing, animation, or any other artistic pursuit. It has the simplest connectivity of any Wacom display, includes a ton of free software trials, and every purchase gains you exclusive access to tips, video tutorials, and resources in the Wacom One Adventure program.  

The best drawing tablet for art students: Wacom Movink

Wacom Movink is Wacom’s slimmest, lightest pen display ever. From 4-6.6mm thick, weighing less than 1lb, and with an extremely slim bezel, every inch of Wacom Movink’s 13.3″ full HD screen is used to powerful effect. This level of performance has never been so portable. It’s perfect for bringing professional power wherever you go: from your dorm to the coffee shop to class to the studio and back.

The best drawing tablet for serious amateurs: Wacom Cintiq

Perfect for serious amateurs and budget-minded professionals alike, Wacom Cintiq features everything needed to take art and design from the sketchbook to the digital realm: the incredibly precise, comfortable, battery-free Pro Pen 2 and a brilliant, full HD display that’s a dream to draw, design, or edit on. Like all Wacom products, it has the build quality and world-class customer support that’s made us the industry leader for 40 years. 

It’s ideal for creating fanart or a webcomic, designing emotes for Twitch streams or logos for small businesses, or for professional illustrators, animators, photo editors, or graphic designers. 

The best flat drawing tablet for professional creatives: Wacom Intuos Pro

Wacom Intuos Pro offers the ultimate in creative control and precision. It’s the best of all possible worlds – the ergonomics and intuitive feel of pen on paper, combined with the power of digital creation. With its built-in ExpressKeys and Touch Ring, Wacom Pro Pen 2, and Bluetooth connectivity, it’s adaptable to your specific creative workflow. 

It’s the right tool for photo editors who need more precision for tracing out masks or layering, graphic designers laying out crucial documents, illustrators who want the efficiency of working digital rather than scanning and cleaning up hand-drawn work, or concept artists ready to take advantage of the power of digital painting software.  

The best pen display for professional creatives: Wacom Cintiq Pro

Wacom Cintiq Pro is Wacom’s most powerful, versatile creative pen display – there’s a reason it’s been topping “Best Of” lists for years. Pro creatives love drawing, designing, editing, and creating directly on the anti-glare, textured glass screen, which boasts best-in-class brightness and color fidelity. And the ergonomic, battery-free Wacom Pro Pen has 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, virtually lag-free accuracy, and incredible tilt recognition for precise creative input. 

Some models come with an ExpressKey Remote – 17 programmable buttons and a Touch Ring for limitless workflow customization – and others have built-in ExpressKeys, so your workflow can be customized to be as creative as your work is.