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Much like traditional art mediums, there is no one-size-fits-all-artists option when it comes to pen displays and tablets.

Picking the right one can seem daunting, but there are some tricks to demystifying the shopping process.

A Wacom One pen display with Corel Painter 2019 running and an illustration of a small pink ghost cat wearing a wizard hat.

However, I would argue that starting with the basics is far more ideal.

They also have the added benefit of being much more budget-friendly than their fancier pen display counterparts.

That doesn’t mean that screenless tablets have to be lacking in amenities.

Xp Pen Deco Lw Pink Reco

The LW variant of these tablets supports Bluetooth connectivity for up to ten hours.

Don’t be fooled by the beginner-friendly nature of the Inspiroy, however.

However, you could often find great discounts to help make the price a bit more manageable.

Huion Inspiroy 640p Drawing Tablet

Unfortunately, these features come at a premium that leaves Wacom devices unattainable for many beginners and hobbyists.

As previously mentioned, some of the more budget-friendly options for drawing tablets do not have built-in monitors.

Screenless digitizers also come with the bonus of being safe for digital drawing while on the go.

Xencelabs Medium Pen Tablet Bundle

Smaller drawing monitors also have the advantage of being more budget-friendly than their larger counterparts.

However, they will require a gear that can handle an extra video output source.

This can help narrow down what pop in of drawing tablet is going to best suit your needs.

XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro

Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 Pen And Touch Display

Huion Kamvas Pro 16 Drawing Tablet

Xp Pen Artist 12 Drawing In Progress

Xp Pen Artist 24 Pro Lifestyle

Wacom - Cintiq 16 Creative…

Wacom Cintiq 16 Creative Pen…

Wacom Cintiq 16 Graphics…

Xencelabs Pen Display 24, 4K…

Xencelabs Pen Display Drawing…

Surface Pro 7 with Type Cover

Microsoft Surface Pro 11 with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite

Monoprice Dark Matter 27-inch gaming monitor with cat

The HP OMEN Transcend 32 on a desk with the display on.

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition power adapter in box

Asus Rog Zephyrus G14 Ryzen

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang addresses participants at the keynote of CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 6, 2025.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition (front) compared to RTX 5090 Founders Edition (rear)

Nintendo Switch 2 on the left with ROG Ally and ROG Ally X on the right.

Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam Deck on peach background.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ flat on a table with a Steam Deck below it.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ propped up next to an ROG Ally X on a table.

NVIDIA RTX 5070 vs. RTX 5070 Ti

AMD RX 9000

Image of the Keychron K4 HE Special Edition in white.