Cheap Drawing Tablets Under $100 For The Young Pixel Wizard

So you want to get into digital art, or maybe you are already but need a new cheap drawing tablet? Then we have some options here for under a hundred bucks. If you want to pair these with some other gifts for the holidays, check out our Christmas gift bundle ideas post here.

Looking for pen displays rather? Look here…

Wacom Drawing Tablet

The tried and tested. Generally, with Wacom, you can be pretty sure your pen tablet will last a good long while if looked after. I’ve kept my old Graphire3 as an interim option in case I have issues with my current one. After having it for about 5 years, this drawing tablet still works pretty well for the digital art I do. I even picked up an older Intuos GD1212U the other day that was gathering dust here. To my surprise, it still functions exactly as it should. Anyway, I digress… here are those options…

The Intuos Small – $99.95 on Amazon

Compact and wireless, this tablet is ideal for the smaller workspace. It has half the pressure sensitivity than competitors at this price, but I find 4096 levels to be plenty. You can still make light strokes and get the finer line you want.

This Intuos has 4 programmable keys on the tablet and two on the pen so you have the freedom to customize things to suit you. It is also compatible with selected Android devices but you will have to purchase the OTG connector separately. If you do want a tablet specifically for connecting to an Android device, I’d recommend the Deco Mini 7 mentioned further down.

For 20 bucks less, you can get the wired version of this Intuos. This is a pretty cheap and reliable drawing tablet, that’s a popular choice for graphic designers and illustrators starting out.

If you want to spend more, then I recommend The Intuos Pro Small.
The Intuos Pro Large retails for around $400.

XP-Pen Drawing Tablet Options

XP-Pen are my competitor of choice against Wacom, and I’m currently using their Deco Pro Small which you can find my review of that here.

When I wanted something with a larger active area than the Graphire 3 I was using, and convenient express keys, the Deco Pro was perfect for my limited budget. And it looks great too.

The Deco Pro Small – Also $99.99 on Amazon

Affordable though it is, it definitely doesn’t feel like a cheap drawing tablet. The design of the Deco Pro is worth mentioning; it has won two awards for it after all. The The 2019 RedDot award and Good Design Award 2018. Two main things stand out: the aluminium side panel and back, and the mechanical wheel. The wheel was one of the main features I was looking forward to when I ordered this. It has the outer mechanical wheel and a virtual wheel.

The Deco Pro has all the standard features: battery-free pen, 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, and 60 degrees of tilt. There are 8 programmable express keys, is compatible with selected Android devices, and has a very comfortable 9×5” active area. Its overall size is also very close to that of my 16” laptop and fits nicely in the same bag.

A slightly bigger Medium version is available too for $30 more.

If I needed a really cheap beginner drawing tablet, this is the one I’d likely go for. The Deco Mini 7 half the price of the Deco Pro, but has all the essential features. The active area is a little smaller on this, but if $50 is all the budget allows, it’s a great option. It’s compact, has 8124 levels of pressure sensitivity, 60 degrees of tilt recognition, and 8 express keys.

If you are specifically looking for drawing tablet to do digital art on an Android tablet or phone, this is the option I’d recommend. The reason has to do primarily with how the active area is utilized. Instead of only using a portion of the active area while the tablet remains in landscape position like with the Intuos and the Huion products below, the XP-Pen products are rotated and uses the full active area in portrait position.

If you want something even smaller, look at the Deco Mini 4 which is 4×3″ or 10×7.6cm (this was actually the size of my first tablet).

Huion’s Drawing Tablets

2020 HS611 – $81.98 on Amazon

8192 levels of pressure, 10 programmable express keys, 8 multimedia keys on the top right which might be nice for some. There’s a touch strip, 60 degrees of tilt recognition, and a good working area.

H1060P – $80 on Amazon

A whole lot of customization here with 12 express keys and another 16 soft keys without cramping the working area which sits at 10×6.25″. As with the HS611, it also comes with 60 degrees of tilt recognition and 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Wrapping up…

We hope this list of affordable drawing tablets for digital helps you get started on your journey of pixel pushing wizardry.

If you are a beginner trying to figure out how to go about getting into digital art and learning to draw, then check out our Digital Art For Beginners post

Full Disclosure! Firstly, I have only tested the the Deco Pro for myself, so please do go check out some reviews before making your purchase. I recommend checking out Brad Colbow’s Youtube channel for some reviews. He’s tested a good range of them so he’s worth checking out.

Secondly, there are affiliate links in here. So as an Amazon associate, I may get a small commission from qualifying purchases. This doesn’t affect your purchase in anyway, but it does help me in a big way to keep producing content here to inform and inspire those interested in digital art.