The best budget drawing tablets don’t sacrifice quality, but instead, they offer a surprising amount of features in a reasonably priced package. From impressive displays to clever extras, there are plenty of reasons to stick to the more affordable graphics tablet.
As the world’s leading art and design website, Creative Bloq know a thing or two about drawing tablets and have tested the majority of the tablets that feature on the list below. The top picks for the best budget drawing tablets take into account features, build quality, style, design and feel. Although there are other fantastic, premium tabs out there that we might have missed on this list, the main thing that we’ve kept in mind is that these are the best affordable options for the majority of creatives out there.
If budget isn’t an issue for you, it can be worth spending a little extra to get one of the best drawing tablets on the market. If it’s a stylus that you’re after, we’ve also rounded up the best tablets with a stylus pen to help you find what you’re looking for.
The best budget drawing tablets available
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Best budget drawing tablet under $50
The best drawing tablet under $50
Specifications
Built-in display?: No
Active drawing area: 10.5 x 6.25 inches
Pen pressure sensitivity: 16,384 levels
Connections: USB-C
Wireless?: No
Reasons to buy
Good amount of active drawing space
+Very responsive
+Portable and easy to travel with
Reasons to avoid
Doesn’t have wireless connectivity
The best budget drawing tablet for under $50 / £50 is the Ugee M908. While it may look small, this drawing tablet offers excellent responsiveness and a large drawing space, making it great value for money. With a solid build quality, the Ugee M908 can transition with you from a beginner to a professional artist.
In our Ugee M908 review, our tester found that it’s modest in size, price and fancy features but has some surprisingly good specs, including its PH23 stylus. The accompanying pen is light, comfortable to hold and has shortcut buttons on the side for easy editing. It runs smoothly across the display, has a good spring, and has 16K levels of pressure with 60-degree tilt, which is pretty admirable for such a cheap price.
The Ugee M908 doesn’t have a wireless option which lets it down slightly, but it’s the best budget drawing tablet you can buy today. It’d also make a good second screen display or an admirable beginner’s drawing tablet.
Best budget drawing tablet under $100
The best budget drawing tablet under $100
Specifications
Active drawing area: 8 x 5 inches
Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192 levels
Screen resolution : n/a
Connections: USB, Bluetooth
OS: Windows or macOS
Reasons to buy
Good choice for beginners and tighter budgets
+Colourful and wireless connection options
+Reliable brand
Reasons to avoid
Software and Bluetooth could be better
If you’re looking for a budget drawing tablet under $100, the XP-Pen Deco MW is our top choice. Not only is it affordable, but it’s a good choice for beginners as it has pin-point accuracy and responsiveness that rivals even the more expensive tablets on the market.
This entry-level tablet has some impressive specs and features, including ease of set-up and use, and its stylus pen. The stylus has 8,192 levels of pressure and tilt that works nicely over the medium-sized display. The XP-Pen Deco MW comes with multiple colours to choose from, and it’s a fun tablet to experiment with, especially if you’re just getting into digital art creation.
Another drawing tablet that can grow with you from beginner to pro, the XP-Pen Deco MW can be connected to a main device, like a laptop or mobile via USB or Bluetooth. This expands your drawing experience and makes the XP-Pen Deco MW easy to travel with. See our XP-Pen Deco MW review for more details.
Best budget drawing tablet under $150
The best budget drawing tablet under $150
Specifications
Active drawing area: 6.93 x 3.89 inches
Pen pressure sensitivity: 8,192
Screen resolution: NA
Connections: Bluetooth
OS: iPadOS 17
Customisable buttons: 3
Reasons to buy
Excellent quality and value for money
+Portable for traveling
+Two styluses included
Reasons to avoid
Small active drawing area
The Xencelabs Pen Tablet (small) is the best budget drawing tablet under $150 and offers an incredible amount for its size and price. While its drawing area is a lot smaller than some other options on this list, it has value-added extras, like two stylus pens and a high-quality travel case for the ultimate portability.
A good beginner’s tablet, the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Small is very easy to set-up and use, so new digital artists won’t be put off by it. The screen and accompanying pens are nice to hold and use, providing clean and accurate sketches and strokes. It has good pressure sensitivity and tilt, and in our Xencelab Pen Tablet Small review, we found that it’s satisfying to build paint layers with for better colours and markings.
Best budget pen display under $400
The best budget touch-enabled pen display under $400
Specifications
Active drawing area: 13.5 x 8.5 inches
Screen resolution: 2560 x 1600 WQXGA
Pen pressure sensitivity: 16,384
Connections: USB-C, 3-in-1 USB-C
OS: Mac, Windows, Linux
Reasons to buy
Touch-enabled anti-glare display
+Accurate and responsive stylus
+Off-tablet quick key remote
If it’s a pen display you’re after, the XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) is the best budget pen display under $400 you can buy. Another fantastic model from XP-Pen, this affordable pen display has a surprising amount of tech packed in, and it’s taken some of the features off the screen, like the Quick Keys, to allow for more drawing space.
As we found in our XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) review, the 2K resolution display could be better, and it’s nowhere near the quality of Wacom. It’s colour coverage ratio and lighting tech is still good, and the stylus more than makes up for the display, thanks to its 16K levels of pressure. The XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) is easy to set-up and create with, plus it can be used as a second screen for professional artists and students.
Best budget Wacom drawing tablet under $400
The Wacom experience for a fair price
Specifications
Built-in display?: Yes
Active drawing area: 11.6 x 6.5 inches
Screen resolution: 1080p
Pen pressure sensitivity: 4,096 levels
Connections: HDMI, USB-A
Reasons to buy
Good value
+Premium drawing feel
+Reliable and well built
Reasons to avoid
Screen could be brighter
Wacom is well-known for its superb drawing tablets, and it’s just as capable at the budget end of the scale as it is at the flagship end. If you want to get the Wacom experience without breaking the bank, the Wacom One is a great way to go about it.
Unlike many of the more affordable graphics tablets, the Wacom One has a built-in screen. That means you can look right at the work you’re creating on the tablet, which makes things just that little bit easier. It has the signature Wacom build quality, feels fantastic when drawing and doodling, and is highly flexible, allowing you to use almost any stylus you fancy.
Speaking of stylus, the pen the Wacom One comes with isn’t the best we’ve ever tried so you’ll want to consider buying a different stylus, which will affect the price you’ll pay for the entire package. However, there are a range of great styluses that are compatible with Wacom so you’ll have plenty of choice. Overall, it’s an all-round package that few other budget tablets can match.
Best budget pen computer under $500
Best budget XP-Pen drawing pad under $500
Specifications
Active drawing area: 12.2-inch, 3:2 ratio
Resolution: 2160 x 1440
Pen pressure sensitivity: 6,384 levels of pen pressure, EMR tech
Connections: Bluetooth 5.1, WiFi, USB-C 2.0
OS: Android
Reasons to buy
Lightweight, portable and not too badly priced
+Standout stylus
+Good alternative to an iPad
Reasons to avoid
Sometimes struggles with simulations
The final entry on our list is the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad, which is the best budget XP-Pen drawing pad or pen computer under $500. It’s often seen as a strong alternative to an iPad, although it does lack in some areas that the Apple model doesn’t, like it struggles with certain simulations.
But let’s get away from the negative and rave about the positives! Considering its size, the XP-Pen Magic Drawing Pad is a dedicated portable drawing tablet that’s specifically designed for creating art. It has a wide compact screen with impressive resolution and flexibility, so you can sketch, edit, stroke, doodle and so much more on the attractive display. The stylus is the standout of the show, as it has 16K pressure and is great for repetitive strokes across the screen. It’s the more expensive option on this list, but it won’t cost you an arm and a leg, unlike other models with the same type of quality. See our XPPen Magic Drawing Pad review for more details.
