The best drawing tablet under 300$ With a Screen

The best drawing tablet under 300$ with a screen provides a better user experience for both professionals and beginners. Depending on whether they connect to a computer to use or they can be used without a computer, these types of tablets are divided into 2 main categories.

When choosing budget tablets, there are some important factors that you need to keep in mind so that you end up with the best. These factors include screen size and quality, processing power, battery life, portability, storage space, and the price.

Whether you prefer a Windows, Android, or even iPad OS tablet, this article has something for you. If you need a cheaper tablet, check out some top drawing tablet under 100$.

Best tablets under 300$

1. Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite: Best Overall
2. Simbans PicassoTab 10 Inch: drawing tablets under $300
3. Samsung Galaxy Tab A: cheap drawing tablet
4. Apple iPad 2020: Powerful tablet under $300
5. Lenovo Smart TAB is the best tablet under 300
6. GAOMON PD1560 : best screen for beginners
7. Huion KAMVAS 12: cheap Graphic drawing tablet
8. Wacom Intuos Small – drawing tablet under 300
9. XP Pen Deco V2: Best budget Tablet
10. Fusion5 10.1: Best Windows Tablet Under 300$

The best tablets under 300 dollars Top picks

Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite	Best Overall	Check Price
Simbans PicassoTab 10 Inch	Best budget	Check Price
Samsung Galaxy Tab A	Cheapest drawing tablet	Check Price

Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite: Best overall

• Screen Size: 10.4 inches
• Resolution: 2000 x 1200 pixels
• Color Accuracy: 98.4% of the sRGB color gamut
• Processor: Exynos 9611
• RAM: 4 GB
• Storage Space: 128 GB with microSD up to 1 TB
• Stylus Pen: Samsung S Pen
• Pen Pressure: 4,096 levels

If you are looking for a compact tablet, that will not break the bank, then the Samsung Galaxy is the best pick for you. The 10.4-inch screen is a large enough working area for different tasks whether drawing, writing, or gaming.

The screen is great and comes at a 2000 x 1200 pixel screen resolution that is crisp and clear. Although you can watch or view on the screen from virtually any angle, it lacks a super AMOLED screen display present in the more expensive S7+ that allows for an enhanced detailed view.

This means that blacks will not appear as deep on the S6 lite as would be on the S7+, but it will be clear enough and appealing all the same. Additionally, a high 98.4% of the sRGB color gamut means the screen color is accurately presented for the best user experience.

The tablet is great for Multitasking with 4 GB of RAM, coupled with a great 1.7 GHz Exynos 9611 processor. On purchase, it comes with 64 GB of storage space but features a Micro SD slot that is expandable up to 1 TB where you can save all your files and applications.

Another great thing is that it comes with a sensitive S pen and you will not have to buy it separately. The pen provides a natural pen to paper like feel when drawing with around 4096 pen pressure sensitivity levels. This is lower than the optimal 8192 levels but will still draw perfectly without any lags.

Samsung S Pen is made based on the professional Wacom Pro Pen 2 design thus Pen accuracy is quite good for a drawing stylus. Just like the other tablets in this category, it comes with an inbuilt computer and a screen. It is therefore a pen computer tablet and does not need a computer to use. 

A long life fast charging battery with up to 13 hours of Battery life makes the Galaxy S6 lite easy to use outdoors or when used as a traveling tablet. You can either choose the older Samsung Galaxy S6 lite (2022) or the new and improved Samsung Galaxy S6 lite (2024)

Simbans PicassoTab 10 Inch – drawing tablet under $300

1. Screen Size: 10.1-inch
2. Resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels
3. Storage Space: 64 and 32 GB options both expandable up to 128 GB
4. Processor: 2 or 1.3 GHz Quad Core MTK8163
5. RAM: 4 GB and 2 GB
6. OS: Android Pie 9 and Android 10 option
7. Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS
8. Front Camera: 2.0 MP
9. Back Camera: 5.0 MP
10. Ports: USB Type-C, Mini-HDMI,  SD Card Slot, Audio

Simbans Picasso Tab is ideal for both students and professionals. If you want a cheap drawing tablet that will also allow you to take notes and draw efficiently then Simbans Picasso is just what you need.

Simbans Picasso Tab comes with 10 inches IPS HD screen which gives high-resolution images. Another advantage of buying this tablet is that it has a MediaTek  Quad-core processor which makes it even easier to multitask. Screen resolution is slightly lower than most other tablets in this review at 1280 x 800 pixels. It would have been better if they had a Full HD resolution screen.

For its price range, the screen features a fairly wide color gamut at 72% NTSC, that provides a wide range of color displays. The tablet also has memory storage of 32 GB disk which allows you to download and store your favorite apps and important projects. What’s more? The tablet comes with a screen protector, a protective case, and a good power adapter.

The Picasso Tab X features high pen accuracy with 8192 levels of pressure. This is similar to the more expensive PicassoTab X11 which is manufactured by the same brand. High Pen accuracy is made possible by the reduced pen tip size that is free of any lags as you draw on it.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 – Cheap Drawing Tablet Under 300

1. Screen Size: 10.1 inches
2. Screen Resolution 1920 x 1200 pixels
3. Storage Space:  32 GB expandable up to 512 GB using a Micro SD Card
4. Processor: ‎1.8 GHz Quad Core Processor
5. RAM  2 GB
6.  Pen Pressure: 1,024 levels of pressure
7. Operating System: Android Pie 9
8. Battery Life: 10 Hours
9. Connectivity WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS
10. Front Camera 2.0 MP
11. Back Camera 8.0 MP
12. Weight: ‎3.87 ounces

The Samsung Galaxy TAB A has one of the best-built bodies for this price range. Although very different from an iPad, its aluminum feel at the back makes it feel like an iPad, but cheaper.

There are 2 varieties of sizes one at 8 inches and a 10-inch option. Although both sizes are smaller than a Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite or S7+, both options are large enough for drawing and can make for a great tablet for writing and note-taking.

For a budget tablet, the slim 7.5 mm feel is classy and sleek compared to other tablets in its range and will make it easy to carry for your college classes or travel from place to place. The lack of fingerprint identification takes from the greatness of the tablet but hey the price makes up for everything here. Oh, it is also not water resistant.

The speaker quality is not the best compared to this tablet’s bigger higher end more expensive brothers. Furthermore, the storage space is a good 32 GB. Although the storage space is low it is expandable with a micro SD slot up to 512 GB.

For this price, the  10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 pixel screen is ok but it however lacks the AMOLED screen technology and backlight used in premium-level Tablets, such as the the Galaxy S7+ and S6. The clarity is therefore not as crisp but good for the cheap price. Unfortunately, colors will not display as clearly as on more expensive options because of its narrow color gamut.

It will produce a 24-bit full-screen color, capable of 256 intensity levels for RGB color sub-pixels. A mixture of these produces the different screen colors.

To maximize the working area, the thickness of the screen to the edge border is reduced and made to create a comfortable working area for artists.

The battery life is great with up to 13 hours of battery life. As a Computer tablet, you will not need a computer to use it and you can install software on it. Although you can easily play games with it, Amazon’s Fire HD 10  is a better pick for a faster CPU but ultimately for a smooth gaming tablet experience, you might want to invest in a Samsung S6 Lite or S7+. Another similar but smaller option for this tablet is the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8. Below are its specifications

The tablet features low Pen accuracy due to its low 1024 pen pressure levels on the stylus pen. If you want higher pen pressure, you can replace the native pen with a Wacom Penabled stylus since it is made with the same pen technology.

Apple iPad 2020 – A Powerful drawing tablet

• Screen Size 10.2 inches
• Screen Resolution: 1620 x 2160 pixels
• Color Accuracy: 122.9% of the sRGB color gamut
• Storage Space:  32 GB
• Processor: ‎ A12 Bionic chipsets
• RAM: 3 GB
• Operating System: iPadOS 14 upgradable to iPadOS 16.5
• Battery Life: 10 Hours
• Connectivity WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS
• Front Camera 1.2 MP
• Rear Camera: 8 MP

The Apple iPad 2020 is an upgrade from the smaller iPad 2018. Unlike the 2018 model, it comes with a bigger 10.2-inch retina view screen which is great and ideal for gaming, drawing, or note-taking tablet. The screen display is also decent with a 1620 x 2160 pixels display and matches brightness levels to the perfect more expensive iPad PRO.

It features a crisp and clear color display thanks to a wide 122.9% of the sRGB color gamut which is even better than that on Surface Pro 7 at 102% and Surface Pro X with 103% sRGB color gamut.

Fast processing and Multitasking are made possible by 3GB RAM plus two additional processing cores from the 2018 model. This tablet is an Apple product and processes faster than many tablets in its range. This is made possible thanks to the A12 Bionic chipset processor.

The 32 GB of storage memory is however a little small and may not be large enough to save your files and apps. To make up for this, there is a 128 GB option for a little more.

The Apple iPad 2020 can be used without a computer or PC connection. This means you can use it for your outdoors or travel. Adding to this the battery life is good with up to 10 hours.

An extra fingerprint scan security feature plus the 8 MP rear camera and 1.2 MP front selfie camera make this a definite top contender for the best Apple tablet for under 300$.

The Apple iPad 2020 is compatible with Apple Pencil 2 with high pen accuracy, tilt recognition, and up to 8192 pen pressure levels on the massive screen

Lenovo Tab 4 – best tablet under 300 from Lenovo

1. Screen Size: 10.3 inches
2. Resolution: Full HD 1920 x 1200 Pixels
3. Screen Type: IPS LCD
4. Processor: 2.3 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625
5. RAM: 2 GB, 4 GB, 6 GB
6.  Color Gamut: 70% sRGB
7. Brightness: 400 nits
8. Pen pressure: 4096 pressure levels
9. Internal Storage: 32 GB
10. Expandable Storage: microSD card slot up to 256 GB
11. Operating System: Android 9 Pie
12. Speakers: Dolby Atmos with Dual speakers
13. Camera: Rear Camera at 8 MP and Front Camera at 5 MP
14. Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB Type-C

The Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus features a bright IPS LCD screen at 10.3 inches in size and Full HD 1920 x 1200 Pixels resolution. It is bright and clear thanks to a 70 sRGB color accuracy display and 400 nits brightness levels. This is a better display compared to the Lenovo Tab 4 10 with color gamut at 60% and 350 nits brightness.

To get an incredibly quick and smooth performance, The Lenovo Tab 4 comes with a powerful Octa-center Snapdragon 625 processor. However, multitasking is highly limited by the low 2 GB RAM. You can choose 4 or 6 GB options at a slightly higher price range.

It has the best gaming style and with this tablet, you can manage a wide range of top-of-the-line android games and applications. Make for an incredible gaming tablet.

The extra room is somewhat low at 16 GB, yet it is expandable to 256 GB, which is the reason you can store various things according to your necessities. For drawing, the pen is accurate with up to 4096 Pen pressure levels. Other accessories like cameras and speakers are also reliable and provide a great user experience.

For recording videos and video conferencing, the tablet features an 8 MP resolution rear camera and a Front Camera at 5 MP. The sound experience is great for music consumption tanks to the Dolby Atmos audio system with Dual speakers.

Like Samsung tablets, the Lenovo Tab 4 10 Plus runs on an Android OS with an old upgradable Android Pie OS.

GAOMON PD1560 15.6: best drawing tablet with a large screen

• Screen Size 15.6 inches
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels
• Color Accuracy: 72% NTSC 100% sRGB
• AG Film Applied
• Battery-free Pen AP50
• 10 Express Keys
• Compatibility: Windows, Mac

If you are looking for a Wacom Tablet alternative, GAOMON PD1560 is a perfect alternative. It features a large 15.6-inch screen size with 1920 by 1080 pixels full HD resolution.

Although it comes with slightly lower color accuracy 72% NTSC 100% sRGB), this display is perfect for drawing. The screen is preinstalled with Anti Glare Film on purchase to protect your eyes during long working hours.

The Battery-free Pen AP50 features a high-pressure sensitivity of 8192 and is firm and does not wobble when drawing. Finally, you will have up to 10 customizable keys that you can set to whatever quick functions you want.

Unfortunately, the GAOMON PD1560 is not a Pen computer tablet. You must connect the tablet to a computer to use. The Anti Glare Film will protect your eyes but it would have been better if the screen was Laminated to reduce Parallax view.

All in all this is a perfect tablet for its price range. Additionally, Windows and Mac compatibility makes it flexible for both MAC and Windows users.

HUION KAMVAS 12: cheap drawing tablet with screen

• Screen size; 11.6 inches
• Resolution; Full HD 1920 by 1080 Pixels
• Lamination: Fully laminated with Anti-glare etched glass
• Pen; PW507
• Brightness: 220 nits
• Pen pressure; 8192 Levels
• Color Gamut; 120% sRGB
• Shortcuts; 4 express keys and1 touch bar
• Tilt Recognition allowed
• Connectivity; 3-in-1 cable, USB-C
• OS Compatibility; Windows 7, MacOS 10.12, Android, and Linux.

HUION KAMVAS Pro 12 Drawing tablet is the best budget drawing tablet with an inbuilt screen under 300$. It supports Chromebook and comes with a Full-Laminated Drawing screen with Tilt Function.

The Huion Kamvas Pro12 is the best choice to be your first pen display with the high-cost performance with its 11.6-inch full HD display and a screen resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. The screen is Fully laminated with Anti-glare etched glass. It is also bright at 220 nits and also features an accurate 120% sRGB color gamut.

The laminated screen and mate anti-glare screen help with drawing accuracy with minimal reflections and parallax. You will be able to view your work in a rich and colorful display.

For the best drawing experience, the tablet comes with 4 express keys and 1 touch bar that can be set to your quick go-to functions thus speeding up your workflow. You will also get a free Stylus pen with tilt recognition at + or minus 60 degrees and 8192 Levels of pressure.

It can be plugged into certain Android phones and laptops. The Kamvas 12 Pro has a pen with a pressure level sensitivity of 8192 and a 60-degree tilt recognition.

Wacom Intuos Small – Entry Level Wacom Drawing tablet

• Connectivity: USB and Bluetooth
• Pen Pressure: 4096 Levels of Pen Pressure Sensitivity 
• Compatibility: Mac OS, Windows, Chromebook, and Android

The Wacom Intuos Small drawing tablet suits beginner artists tapping into the digital arts industry. Wacom Intuos features a small design with four express keys, Bluetooth connectivity, and a 4096 pressure-sensitive battery-free pen. 

This tablet works with Mac OS X 10.10 and above, Windows 7 and above, Chromebook’s latest OS, and Android. So far, this Wacom Intuos S is one of the best tablets we’ve tested regarding compatibility, so you don’t have any limitations. 

Wacom Intuos comes in two sizes, small and medium. While you might get tempted to pick the smaller size, we highly recommend the medium size.

Drawing on the small size feels so uncomfortable, especially if you intend to draw for longer sessions. The medium size tablet will complement your computer’s screen and offer a wider range of motion. 

XP Pen Deco V2 Drawing Tablet

• Working Area: 10×6.25
• Connectivity: USB
• Pen Pressure: 8192 Levels of Pen Pressure Sensitivity
• Compatibility: Mac OS 10.10 and above, Windows 10, 8, 7, Android 6.0 and above, Chrome OS 88 and above

XP Pen Deco V2 is an incredible drawing pad for professionals looking for a highly responsive and larger working area. The Deco V2 has on-device shortcut keys, a powerful stylus, and broad compatibility options. 

We’ve tried to use this tablet with a MacBook via a USB connection, and we were more than impressed because there were zero lags. The tablet is also compatible with a wide range of apps like Autodesk, FlipaClip, Sketchbook, and Arteaga. 

If you’re a traveler or someone who loves working from one point to the other in your home, this Deco V2 is highly portable, making things easy for you. 

Fusion5 10.1

1. OS: Windows 11 Home
2. Screen Size: 10.1 inches
3. Resolution: 1920×1080 Pixels Full HD
4. RAM: 8 GB DDR5
5. Storage: 256 GB SSD Expandable to 512 GB
6. Processor: N100 Quad-Core
7. HD Webcam
8. Battery Life: 8 hours

Windows tablets have not been left behind when it comes to digital art creation. The fact that they run a Windows 11 Home OS similar to many modern laptops, makes them adaptable and easy to use.

The Fusion5 10.1 comes with a large 10.1-inch screen size with 1920×1080 Pixels Full HD resolution. For a very affordable price range, you will get a powerful 13th GEN N100 Quad-Core Processor and 8 GB RAM.

This powerful processor and RAM not only runs drawing software with ease, but also basic video editing and animation applications.

You will have a 256 GB storage space that is expandable using an external MicroSD slot up to 512 GB. If you are looking for a laptop-like tablet experience with keyboard compatibility, then look no further, the Fusion5 10.1 allows a simple keyboard docking connection.

However, you have to buy the keyboard separately, adding to the cost. You have multiple connectivity ports including a 3.5 mm Jack if you like listening to music on your headphones as you work.

Fusion has created a variation of the tablet with an Android operating system instead of Windows to better serve its clients. This option is slightly cheaper at almost half the price compared to the Windows version.

If you would like us to do a head-to-head comparison between the two, just comment on this post.

How to choose the Best Drawing Tablet under 300$

Operating System

An operating system is a program that is responsible for the functionality of any device. Most devices use Windows, Mac, and Linux as operating systems. When choosing a drawing tablet, it is advisable to go for a tablet that has Mac or Windows operating systems.

According to recent surveys, Mac tends to meet customers’ needs and it also has a simple user interface. That doesn’t mean that Windows OS isn’t good. The majority of users prefer devices with Windows OS.

Pressure Sensitivity

When you buy a highly sensitive drawing tablet, you’re going to use less effort to draw. The amount of physical pressure you have to put on the tablet’s screen when drawing is inversely proportional to the pressure sensitivity of your tablet.

But this doesn’t mean that the higher the sensitivity the better for you. Remember, there’s a high chance of more errors with higher pressure sensitivity so you have to be wise when choosing your tablet.

Active Working Area

An active working area refers to the area on your tablet that the stylus can react to and draw. The size of the working area of your drawing tablet doesn’t have to be extremely big. An extremely big screen might make it hard for you to draw because of positioning especially when you’re using your tablet without a stand. 

The screen shouldn’t be too small too because you don’t want to run out of room when working on your projects.

Most tablets come packaged with labels indicating the size of the working area. You have to countercheck before buying the tablet just to be sure the sizes indicated are correct.

Resolution

Just the way you check for resolution on your T.Vs before purchasing, you might want to check the resolution of a drawing tablet before you pay for it. If you want a tablet that will help you produce high-resolution images or graphics, then a tablet with a high LPI will be ideal for you.

Wireless Or Wired

Many artists want a pen computer drawing tablet for their needs and thus a wireless tablet wins the battle between wired and wireless. You want to move around freely when working and a wireless tablet will provide you with exactly what you want.

Although a wired tablet might limit your freedom in terms of movement, it can connect to your monitor or working space directly.

Additional Features

Additional features might not be that important but they can play a huge role when choosing a drawing tablet and you’re torn between two tablets.

Additional features like hotkeys can be important because they act like shortcut keys making it easier for you to program the keys to your most-used shortcuts. Some features like multi-touch capability make it easier for you to use the tablet.

Type of Drawing Tablet

If you’re looking for a drawing tablet on a tight budget, the flat tablet will be ideal for you. Pen tablets are the cheapest compared to the other models. The flat tablets are not only cheap but they are also light.

That’s not all, you can easily connect a flat tablet to your computer as a peripheral. As you draw on your tablet, the drawings get reflected on the screen.

On-screen tablets are the most expensive tablets. They also connect to the computer just like flat tablets.

When it comes to tablets, you don’t need to connect the tablet to your computer. The tablets come with operating systems like Android, Windows, or an Apple Mac. With a drawing tablet, you can work from anywhere because you can draw on your screen directly.

Stylus

A stylus pencil is also known as an optical pencil. This accessory is essential because it is responsible for recording the strokes that you make in the working areas and displaying them on the screen.

It is very uncomfortable to draw without an optical pencil therefore you should ensure that you have this accessory in mind.

How do you know the best type of stylus? Stylus pencils come in two designs; with battery and without battery.

A stylus that comes with batteries tends to be a bit heavier because of the battery weight while the stylus without a battery (also known as electromagnetic resonance) is lightweight.

When choosing a stylus, we recommend that you go for the one without batteries because you will reduce the stress of replacing the batteries and they are also light.

Which is the best drawing tablet for you?

Frequently Asked Questions