Best portable tablets for digital art (2025 update)

Here's the 2025 list for the best portable drawing tablets, curated from all the tablets that I've tested in the 2025, and some from 2024. My recommendations will only feature the main pros and cons because the full reviews are just too long.

By the way, whenever I mention Apple products, know that you may be able to get them at lower prices from Apple refurbished store online.

USD 100 - 200

Samsung Tab S6 Lite

The 10.4-inch Samsung Tab S6 Lite (2024) (2022 model's review) is currently selling at USD 199 on Amazon USA. The specifications aren't that good but this is the budget tablet with the best pen performance. The US $199 model only has 64GB storage and for $50 more you can get 128GB storage. It's probably more worth the money to get a microSD card instead.

Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Good pen performance
+ Samsung OS has many features
+ Laminated display
- Processor is not that powerful, but more than powerful enough for drawing
- 4GB RAM, 64GB storage but there's microSD card slot

USD 200 - 300

ugee UT2

The 10.4-inch ugee UT2 (review) has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage with a microSD card slot. Price has dropped from USD 229 to USD 199 on Amazon. Pen performance is better than I expected but not as good as the Samsung Tab S6 Lite.

Main pros and cons
+ Pen and case are included
+ Decent pen performance
+ Matte glass laminated display
- Processor is not that powerful, but more than powerful enough for drawing
- Not many features with the OS
- Palm rejection does not work well

XPPen Magic Note Pad

The XPPen Magic Note Pad (review) was launched in March 2025 and has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Launch price was UD $395 but the current price is USD 299 on AliExpress.

Main pros and cons
+ 90Hz matte glass display
+ Pen included
+ Decent pen performance for drawing
- No microSD card
- No tilt sensitivity
- No rear camera

USD 300 - 400

Samsung Tab S9 FE+ and S9 FE

The 10.9-inch Samsung Tab S9 FE (review) comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Price is currently USD 299 on Amazon. This gets an easy recommendation from me because it's better than the Samsung Tab S6 Lite in almost every way, and you get more value for money compared to the iPad 10.

Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Good pen performance
+ Samsung OS has many features
+ Laminated display
+ Crazy long battery life
- Processor is not that powerful, but more than powerful enough for drawing

The 12.4-inch Tab S9 FE is USD 399 on Amazon. This is a good option if you want a bigger tablet. Note that the 10.9-inch tablet is still a big tablet, it's just the 12.4-inch is bigger.

iPad 11 (2025) with Apple Pencil 1

iPad 11 (review) was released in March 2025 and has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Price is USD 299 on Amazon currently and Apple Pencil 1 is another USD 99. So the total is USD 348. This is a capable entry level tablet with good pen performance.

For drawing purposes, I recommend the 256GB storage model instead which is US $399.

Main pros and cons
+ Good pen performance
+ Apple App Store has many drawing and graphic design apps
- Pen is sold separately
- Pricey for the specification you get
- Display is not laminated

USD 400 - 500

Wacom MovinkPad 11

The Wacom MovinkPad 11 (review) was released in July 2025 and priced at US$ 449. This 11.5-inch tablet has fantastic support for pressure, tilt and palm rejection. The pen is good so the drawing experience is good.

Main pros and cons
+ Fantastic pen performance
+ Laminated matte glass display
+ 90Hz refresh rate
- Only 128GB storage without microSD card slot
- Future Android OS updates not guaranteed
- No face unlock, no fingerprint unlock

Samsung Tab S10 FE

The Samsung Tab S10 FE is my top choice in this price category. This was released in April 2025. Full review here.

This new model over the Tab S9 FE series has better processor, more RAM and is lighter. Price for the Tab S10 FE with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is US $449 (on Amazon). There's also the 13.1-inch Tab S10 FE+ that starts from US $599.

The Tab S10 FE is a substantially better tablet than the iPad 11 (2025) so if you can spend the extra US $50, I recommend the Samsung. But if you need graphic design apps that handle typography, vector and layout, get the iPad instead.

Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Good pen performance
+ Samsung OS has many features
+ Laminated display
+ Crazy long battery life
+ Has microSD card
- Processor is not that powerful, but more than powerful enough for drawing

XPPen Magic Drawing Pad

The XPPen Magic Drawing Pad (review) is a 12.2-inch tablet that has 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Price has dropped from US$ 499 to US $429 on XPPen online store. Drawing performance is decent but not as good as the iPad or Samsung.

There are two models for this tablet. Make sure you get the model that comes with Android 14 and the X3 Pro Slim Pen with two side buttons.

Main pros and cons
+ Pen is included
+ Decent pen performance
+ Matte glass laminated display
+ 8GB RAM 256GB storage
- Pen has no tilt
- Palm rejection not perfect
- Future Android OS updates not guaranteed

USD 500 - 1000

There are many good tablets in this price category so I'll just recommend the ones that I think offers the best value for money.

The Apple M3 iPad Air (review) was just released in March 2025. The model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is currently US $499 (on Amazon) or 8GB with 256GB storage for US $599 (on Amazon). I recommend at least 256GB for drawing purposes.

To save money, get the refurbished M1 iPad Air (2022) (review) or refurbished M2 iPad Air (2024) (review). Prices of refurbished models direct from Apple are usually 15% lower than official retail price

M1 iPad Air uses Apple Pencil 2. M2 and M2 iPad Air uses Apple Pencil Pro. The pens are US $99 each.

Main pros and cons
+ Powerful processor
+ Good pen performance
+ Beautiful laminated LCD display
+ Good battery life
- 2-way speakers

14.6-inch Samsung Tab S9 Ultra

The 11-inch Samsung Tab S9 (review) comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and is currently USD 595 on Amazon.

There's also 12.4-inch Tab S9+ and 14.6-inch Tab S9 Ultra. And if you have more budget, there's the Samsung Tab S10+ and S10 Ultra. The Tab S10 series tablets have better processor and the anti-reflective display. For drawing purposes, there's no difference between Tab S9 or Tab S10 so you may want to save money by going with the older model, unless the price difference is not huge.

Main pros and cons
+ Pen included
+ Good pen performance
+ Laminated OLED display
+ Good battery life
+ 4-way speakers

USD 1000 - 1500

At this price range, we are looking the latest and best tablets in the market, namely the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series and Apple M4 iPad Pro. Prices are from USD 849 on Amazon for the 12.4-inch Samsung Tab S10+ with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, and for the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro it's from USD 899 on Amazon.

11-inch M4 iPad Pro

I don't think you can go wrong with either tablets for drawing. And if you want something bigger, there's the 14.6-inch Samsung Tab S10 Ultra and 13-inch M4 iPad Pro (review. They are new so they are pricey. If you don't need the latest, you can save a lot of money by getting the previous generation tablets.

Microsoft Surface Pro 11

The 13-inch Microsoft Surface Pro 11 (review) comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. Price is USD 899 on Amazon. The pen and keyboard case are sold separately and they are expensive. The main selling point of the Surface Pro 11 is it runs desktop software. If you already have a computer, it's probably better to get an Android tablet or iPad because they have better pen performance.

If you get the Surface Pro with ARM processor, make sure to check the apps you use are compatible with ARM.

Other options

The Huion Kamvas Studio 16 is a 15.8-inch Windows tablet released in early 2023. This tablet comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage and price currently is USD 1529 on Huion online store. This tablet probably has the best pen performance among all the tablets listed above.

Main pros and cons
+ Excellent pen performance
+ Excellent colour accuracy
+ Big display
+ Matte glass laminated LCD display
- 4 to 5 hours battery life
- Runs hot
- No auto brightness

What about the OnePlus Pad 2 or 3, Xiaomi Pad 7 and Pad 7 Pro

I do not recommend OnePlus Pad 1, 2 and 3 because pen performance is not good. And replacement pen tips for the OnePlus Stylo 1 and 2 are still not available years after launch.

The Xiaomi Pad 7 and Pad 7 Pro are pretty good tablets but cannot be purchased easily from USA. Price for the Xiaomi Pad 7 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage starts from US $350 which does not included the Xiaomi Focus Pen which is US $70. The pen is good for drawing but tilt sensitivity does not work consistently.

It is possible to get the Xiaomi Pad 7 tablets with matte glass displays and those are the ones I recommend if you have more budget.