Best Pen Displays 2021

Pen displays are a must-have for artists looking to work in and around the digital space. Essentially a type of touch-screen monitor, these devices are one of the best ways to create art on computers. There are a lot of devices out there, from incredibly cheap ones to top-tier Wacom devices available for thousands of dollars or more.

It can be difficult to figure out which one to buy, especially if you’re new to digital art. Don’t worry, we’re here to help – we made a list of the best pen displays you can get this year.

This pen display has something truly incredible – a 4k display to go with the typical affordable Huion quality buyers can expect when they pick up one of their devices. It features a contrast ratio of 1200:1 and its wide range of sRGB colour make sure that the picture you see is as natural as possible. Like other Kamvas devices, this one has anti-glare etched glass, and it also features a blue-light reducing feature to make the screen more eye-friendly.

The Kamvas Pro 16 Plus features the industry standards of pen sensitivity and resolution, and comes with a battery-free Huion pen as well as a decent number of replacement nips and a removal tool. It’s compatible with computers and ships with a whole selection of additional equipment, including the mentioned pen, a holder, a foldable stand for the device itself, several different connection cables, power adapters, and an artist glove. At the pricier end of non-Wacom tablet, this Huion is one of the best ones you can buy.

It has all sorts of comfort features, such as a pen display and pen tablet mode for those who prefer it, compatibility via various in and outputs including USB-C, and ambidextrous design for left-handed artists. It’s also light enough to be easily carriable, at only 1.27kgs.

The smaller Gaomon tablet is a great, portable option that’s compatible with PC, Mac, and Android as long as the Android supports TNT and USB 3.1. It’s very portable at only 0.88kgs, and at its thickest point, 13.4mm thickness. It sits on the cheaper end of pen displays in this size, and comes with enough extras to be worth it, such as the included anti-glare film on top of the fully laminated HD screen. At a 1920×1080 FHD resolution, it’s a great choice for both beginners and experienced artists.

Available in different colours, it even offers some interesting design elements for those who are looking for that sort of thing – its main draw, however, is the solid screen and its 16.7M display colours. It comes with its own leather stand and can be adjusted to any angle that’s comfortable to work on. This adds a little to the weight, but not as much as you might expect.

Wacom is the absolute king of pen displays, and not without reason. Their devices are top notch quality but also eye-wateringly expensive. Starting at $1200, this one is no exception. However, especially if you want to buy a larger pen display, the Cintiq is worth a look.

The device is marketed as suitable for beginners – except for the price tag, this is true. It features great colour vibrancy, FHD resolution and the Pro Pen 2 that’s one of Wacom’s best. It’s available with a remote that’s meant for quick keypresses and hot keys so that users don’t need to switch programs or use a keyboard, however this costs extra. All in all, the Wacom Cintiq is a great device, for those who want to pay the premium.

The XP-Pen Innovator has something not a lot of pen displays have these days – built in buttons as well as an exclusive mechanical wheel. While this may not be important to every user, this makes it a little more versatile than button-free devices – however it also makes it bulkier overall. That’s still not too bad – it’s only about 9mm thick for the most part.

It comes with a stand in box, however it’s not too useful – unlike other stands, this one only allows one angle and can’t be adjusted by the user. The tablet can be rotated to be used in either orientation, making it suitable for both right- and left-handed users. It’s fairly priced if not cheap, and compatible with Windows and MacOS.

Another tablet with buttons is the Huion Kamvas 13. Smaller than on the XP Innovator, they don’t add as much to the overall size, however there isn’t a scroll wheel either. For smaller tablets, the Kamvas 13 is an excellent option – especially since you can grab it for less than $250. This also makes it great for beginners.

It’s available in green, purple and black, and has additional extras like a stand and connection cable available, letting the user decide what level of extras they want with it. Like many other Kamvas devices, it’s compatible with Windows, Mac and Android via USB-C connection. Weighing less than a kilo, it’s fairly portable, and like its bigger Kamvas brother, it an be used both as a pen display and a simple pen tablet, which saves a considerable amount of power when used with mobile devices.

This is our list of the best pen displays you can buy this year. Whether Wacom can seduce you into ignoring their price tags with their top quality or you prefer the stellar screen of the Huion Kamvas devices, just about every artist should be able to find their match on this list. Let us know which one lit your creative spark!