Beginner pen tablet recommendations

Basics

• These are recommendations for pen tablets, or screenless tablets, that require a computer. If you want other kinds of tablets, see Beginner drawing tablet recommendations.

• Size. You may see both small and medium sizes listed here. For most people, I recommend a MEDIUM size.

• Enable Force Proportions. A pen tablet will likely feel weird until you enable it. See Matching aspect ratios with Force Proportions.

One by Wacom CTL-x72 series

Two tablets are in this family:

• One by Wacom S (CTL-472)

• One by Wacom M (CTL-672)

If I had to pick one pen tablet for a beginner, I would recommend the One by Wacom M (CTL-672). The price is reasonable. It is reliable. It has a good drawing experience. One by Wacom (CTL-x72) notes

Notes:

• The port on the tablet is micro-USB, not USB-C. The tablet comes with the correct cable, but you should keep this in mind if you ever need to replace it.

• It does not support tilt.

• It does not support wireless.

• It is highly recommended for playing osu!.

The challenge with the Wacom CTL-x72 series

Wacom has discontinued the CTL-672 and CTL-472. They are getting harder to find. You can still find them on eBay. Wacom will eventually drop driver support for them. You can keep using older drivers.

XP-Pen Deco series

These are very good beginner tablets. The price is good. I like the included X3 Elite pen. It has reasonably low IAF. That is a little higher than the Huion tablets mentioned in this list. Max pressure is decent. Pressure response is also very consistent across units.

• XP-Pen Deco M (IT850)

• XP-Pen Deco MW (IT850B)

• XP-Pen Deco L (IT1060)

• XP-Pen Deco LW (IT1060B) - XP-Pen Deco LW (IT1060B) notes

Note: XP-Pen sells other tablets with "Deco" in the name. This section covers only the four models listed above.

Huion Inspiroy Frego (Lx10) series

Consider these models:

• Huion Inspiroy Frego S (L310)

• Huion Inspiroy Frego M (L610) - Huion Inspiroy Frego M (L610) notes

Notes

• The PW550 pen is generally better than the older PW517 pen.

• They automatically adjust aspect ratio when working with Android devices.

Known issues

• Some people do not like the scratchy sound when drawing on the surface.

• Some people report air bubbles appearing under the tablet surface.

Huion Inspiroy 2 series

Two models are in this family:

• Huion Inspiroy 2 M (H951P)

• Huion Inspiroy 2 L (H1061P) Huion Inspiroy 2 L (H1061P) notes

Notes

• The included PW110 pen behaves exactly like the older PW517 pen. The PW550 pen is generally better.

• These tablets do not support wireless connectivity.

Wacom Intuos CTL-x100/CTL-x100WL series

There are four models in this family: Wacom Intuos (CTL-x100) notes

• Intuos Small CTL-4100

• Intuos Small BT CTL-4100WL

• Intuos Medium CTL-6100

• Intuos Medium BT CTL-6100WL

Limitations

• No tilt.

Notes

• The port on the tablet is micro-USB, not USB-C. The tablet comes with the correct cable, but you should keep this in mind if you ever need to replace it.

• These tablets were released in 2018. We expect Wacom driver support to stop in 2028. That gives them a similar support lifetime to the CTL-x72 series.

• They are very expensive for what they are. Even though they are consumer tablets, they have a professional-level price.

XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 and Deco 01 V3

Models:

• XP-Pen Deco 01 V2

• XP-Pen Deco 01 V3 - XP-Pen Deco 01 V3 notes

These are okay tablets.

• Both use the same P05 pen, which has slightly higher IAF than I would like.

• XP-Pen Deco 01 V3 is supposed to work well with Android, but I could not get it to work correctly with my Android devices. Strokes were distorted. Some people report that it works.

Tablets to avoid

Wacom One 2023 pen tablets CTC-x110WL series

I do not recommend these tablets. See Wacom One 2023 pen tablets (CTC-x110WL) notes.

Known issues:

• Slight pressure banding problems. A firmware update addresses about 90% of it.

• The CP-923 pen has high IAF and low pressure.

• They are expensive. The medium size costs $149.95.