Top 10 Wacom Tablets for Graphic Designers

Arek Dvornechuck
Ebaqdesign™
Published in
8 min readDec 21, 2021

If you’re a Wacom fan and you’re looking for the best Wacom tablet for your needs, then this article is for you.

Wacom is a popular brand among graphic designers all over the world because it allows them to create digital drawings that are as realistic as physical drawings.

It offers some of the best drawing tablets on the market, but the question is

What is the best Wacom tablet for graphic design?

Wacom offers a variety of drawing tablets to suit everyone’s needs — from hobbyist photographers to expert graphic designers, animators, and illustrators.

With each of these options, you can find ones that can be budget-friendly or high-end.

While Wacom produces a wide variety of tablets for graphic designers and other creatives, narrowing down the list to just 10 isn’t easy.

If you’re a professional creative and prefer to use the brand Wacom to create your designs — then the Wacom Cintiq 32 Touch.

On the other hand, the Wacom Intuos Pro (Medium) is a must-buy for creatives that are looking for the best beginner tablet from Wacom.

I’m confident that I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 Wacom tablets for artists that will cover all of your needs.

Please note: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

10 Best Wacom Tablets for Artists

  1. Wacom Cintiq 16 — Best overall
  2. Intuos Pro (Medium) — Best for beginners
  3. Intuos Small Bluetooth — Best portable
  4. Wacom One — Best budget tablet
  5. Cintiq 32 Touch — Best for professionals
  6. Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 — Best big-screen
  7. Wacom Cintiq 22 — Best value tablet
  8. Mobile Studio Pro 13 — Most high-end
  9. Sketchpad Pro — Best for sketching
  10. Intuos Creative Pen — Best for travel

You can also check out my other article where I featured the best Gaomon and Huion tablets in 2022.

How to Choose a Wacom Tablet?

But before we start discussing the best Wacom drawing tablets, let’s look at what you should consider before buying a drawing tablet.

How to Choose a Wacom Tablet?

Here are the things you need to consider, before purchasing your Wacom tablet:

  1. Price
  2. Resolution
  3. Size and Weight
  4. Pressure Sensitivity

To further understand why those things should be first looked into, here’s a more detailed explanation:

Price

When buying a Wacom tablet, you should first examine the cost of the tablet as well as its features.

Compare it to your needs and choose the best one that fits your budget.

If you are a hobbyist or a beginner, you do not need to invest in a high-end model.

There are some alternatives that will provide you with the best quality at a very affordable price.

Resolution

As a graphic designer, tablets with a higher resolution allow you to add precise details to your drawings.

However, if your job does not require fine detail, such as generating basic logos or webtoons, a low-resolution tablet is enough.

But for professional creatives, it is wiser to go for a high-resolution Wacom tablet to ensure the best display possible.

It will be a great investment for you and will make your creative work even better.

Size and Weight

Most graphic artists choose small-sized drawing tablets because they offer higher quality at a lower cost.

Furthermore, tiny tablets are lightweight and portable.

Many designers believe that little tablets can perform just as well as larger tablets.

However, if you have a large budget and you enjoy designing on huge screens, you should invest in a large-screen tablet.

Pressure Sensitivity

One of the most crucial aspects of a drawing tablet is its pressure sensitivity.

The depth of your stroke is determined by the amount of pressure you apply to the pen when sketching.

While pressure sensitivity isn’t necessary for simple sketches, it is critical for attaining high-quality results while creating complicated drawings.

As an artist, decide whether you need a tablet with high-pressure sensitivity or not based on your work requirements, as tablets with good pressure sensitivity are pricey.

1. Wacom Cintiq 16

If you want a professional-level drawing tablet with all of the advanced features while still being portable, the Cintiq 16 is the right choice for you.

The best overall Wacom tablet for designers.

Its 15.6-inch display features a scratch-resistant anti-glare surface, which is attractive for graphic artists.

Wacom Cintiq 16

Thanks to the Cintiq 16’s extended battery life and easy workflow, it’s one of Wacom’s best-selling drawing tablets.

Its incredible precision and low parallax provide you with the most natural drawing experience possible.

As a designer, you can see your creative work in the vibrant color in Cintiq 16’s HD display.

Moreover, you can work as long as you’d like with the battery-free pen that charges off the screen while you create your designs.

This tablet is ideal for creatives who enjoy drawing in their own time or art or design students looking for a high-end on-screen experience.

The Wacom Cintiq 16 is definitely a great choice for graphic designers that are looking for the best 4K Wacom tablet to buy.

Specifications

Active area: 345 x 194mm (13.6 x 7.6 in)
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Operating system: Windows, macOS
Levels of pressure: 8,192

Pros

  1. Affordable
  2. Great display
  3. No charging pen needed

Cons

  1. Bulky
  2. Poor performance

Buy Wacom Cintiq 16 on Amazon

2. Wacom Intuos Pro (Medium)

The Intuos Pro Medium includes a 10-inch screen with an anti-glare coating that allows you to work comfortably even outside.

The best Wacom tablet for beginners and hobbyists.

It comes with a wireless, battery-free pen that allows you to draw on the screen without interruption.

Wacom Intuos Pro (Medium)

The Intuos Pro Medium’s multi-touch screen, radial menus, customizable express keys, and pen side switches help you create more designs in less time.

It is also a precision graphics tablet and optimized for hours of Intous Pro Medium includes the Pro Pen 2, which features 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, tilt-response, and virtually lag-free tracking for ultimate precision and control.

And because it’s battery-free, it never needs charging which will allow you to work seamlessly without being interrupted.

This Wacom tablet’s multi-touch surface, customizable express keys, radial menus, and pen side switches will help you speed up your process.

You can also customize your experience with Pro Pen Slim or Pro Pen 3D, which are suitable for beginner and hobbyist artists.

The Wacom Intuos Pro (Medium) is an ideal choice for artists that are looking for the best medium-sized tablet from Wacom.

Specifications

Active area: 216.0 x 135mm
Resolution: 2,540lpi
Operating system: Windows, macOS, or Android
Levels of pressure sensitivity: 8,192

Pros

  1. Slim type
  2. Valuable
  3. Great connectivity

Cons

  1. Nib issue
  2. Unreliable Bluetooth

Buy Wacom Intuos Pro (Medium) on Amazon

3. Wacom Intuos Small Bluetooth

The Intuos Small Bluetooth is a simple-to-use tablet that comes with three pre-installed creative applications to get you started.

The best portable Wacom tablet for graphic artists.

This tablet is great for drawing manga art, picture editing, and digital watercolor painting.

Wacom Intuos Small Bluetooth

The Intuos Small Bluetooth with EMR (Electro-Magnetic Resonance) technology is extremely thin and light, making it extremely portable and convenient to use.

This Wacom tablet contains four programmable ExpressKeys that allow faster and more efficient shortcuts.

It has a 7-inch active display that allows creative people like you to have a better view of your designs.

As a result, Intuos Small Bluetooth has been certified as “Works With Chromebook,” suggesting that it meets Google’s compatibility criteria.

You can also use Bluetooth or USB-A to connect it to your computer, which makes it more attractive for professional creatives.

The Wacom Intuos Small Bluetooth will be a perfect choice for you if you want the best small Wacom tablet this 2022.

You can also check out my other article where I highlighted the best tablets for beginners.

‍Specifications

Active area: 152.0 x 95.0mm
Resolution: 2,540lpi
Operating system: Windows, macOS, or Android
Levels of pressure sensitivity: 4,096

Pros

  1. Compact size
  2. Creative software
  3. Great compatibility

Cons

  1. Expensive
  2. Poor performance

Buy Wacom Intuos Small Bluetooth on Amazon

4. Wacom One

The Wacom One tablet is almost A4 in size, and it’s paired with a Wacom One pen that doesn’t require batteries.

The best budget-friendly Wacom tablet for creatives.

With just one pen and a few creative tools, you can create amazing drawings, mind maps, and diagrams, edit photos and videos, sign documents, and more.

Wacom One

The Wacom One also includes a paper-like canvas, three replacement nibs, an x-shape cable, and an AC converter, among other things.

With this Wacom drawing tablet, you can now go beyond the restrictions of a mouse.

The Wacom One is ideal for artists and professionals who want to create, edit photos, express ideas, and collaborate naturally.

It has a pressure-sensitive battery-free pen that’s comfortable, durable, and accurate, and it feels like a pen on paper.

Additionally, it is the most affordable Wacom tablet, so if you’re on a limited budget, this tablet is what suits you the best.

Overall, the Wacom One is an excellent choice for creatives that are looking for the best budget tablet from Wacom.

‍Specifications

Active area: 216 x 135mm (8.5 x 5.3in)
Resolution: 2,540lpi
Operating system: Windows, macOS, Chromebook
Levels of pressure sensitivity: 2,048

Pros

  1. Affordable
  2. Battery-free
  3. Compact and portable

Cons

  1. Plastic stylus
  2. Cheap packaging

Download Wacom One on Amazon

5. Wacom Cintiq 32 Touch

The Cintiq Pro 32 Touch tablet will meet all of your design needs, whether you’re a professional graphic designer or an architect.

The best Wacom tablet for professional designers.

Its 31.5-inch display supports 1.07 billion colors and covers 98 percent of the Adobe RGB color gamut, ensuring excellent color accuracy in designs.

Wacom Cintiq 32 Touch

The Cintiq Pro 32 Touch also comes with an ExpressKey remote and a Wacom Pro Pen 2 stylus, which adds to its extensive creative capabilities.

It has a 4K resolution, so you can see every detail of your creation with pinpoint accuracy.

The Cintiq Pro 32 Touch has multi-touch gestures, an on-screen keypad, radial menus, and the included ExpressKey Remote for one-touch shortcuts.

With these special features, this Wacom tablet is what I would suggest for professional creatives.

It will be a great investment and will surely fulfill your professional needs for a long period of time.

The Wacom Cintiq 32 Touch is an amazing option for anyone who’s looking for the best Wacom tablet for pro artists and designers.

‍Specifications

Active area: 697 x 392mm (27.44 x 15.43 in)
Resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160px)
Operating system: Windows, macOS
Levels of pressure sensitivity: 8,192

Pros

  1. Great display
  2. True-to-life color
  3. Multi-touch gesture

Cons

  1. Cheap pen
  2. Expensive

Buy Wacom Cintiq 32 Touch on Amazon

Clap if you liked it 👏

--

--