4 Best Drawing Tablets Under 50$ (With Reviews!) - Don Corgi

If you’re an artist on a budget or just starting out, you might be considering a budget drawing tablet under 50$.

And you’re very right to do so!

In fact, starting with a budget drawing tablet is a great way to test the waters of digital drawing and improve one step at a time. You can worry about upgrading later.

So here’s a list of the best drawing tablets under 50$, with reviews!

Dimensions: 172.01×109.6mm (~6.77×4.31 inches), with a working area of 106x66mm (~4.17×2.59 inches)

What’s included: Tablet, Battery-free Pen, 1 USB-C cable, 1 USB-C adapter, and 8 Pen Nibs.

I’ve mentioned this tablet before in other articles. The HUION H420X is a great upgrade from the HUION H420, which I’ve tried and reviewed before and was already quite happy about.

The size of the tablet is fairly similar, however, the stylus is now battery-free which makes a big, big difference.

The first tablets I had, the stylus needed to be charged. This would often lead to some forgetfulness since they’ll run out of battery very quickly. So, of course, a lot of the time I would sit down and, surprise! My pen has no battery so now I can’t draw.

We learn to adapt ourselves, however, it’s much more comfortable to have a tablet and pen that are ready to use at any time!

This drawing tablet might seem really small, but it does have 8192 pressure levels! So basically, you’ll have a very good and professional tablet that you can bring around with you.

Not only that, but while the previous models were only compatible with Windows and Mac OS, the H420X is also compatible with Chrome OS and Android.

So, if you’re looking for a small and portable tablet to use on your phone while keeping it affordable, this one is perfect for the job!

Another great thing about this tablet is that you can use it in any direction!

This is quite common these days, but still missing in some tablets that go on the budget side and have fewer features.

This means that you can use it both horizontally and vertically, but also, if you’re left-handed you can turn it in the other way around so the cable won’t bother you while drawing.

For me, this small feature is always very important, since I use my left hand to draw, and having buttons and cables in the way will make the whole drawing experience more of a bother than anything else!

The only con I see on this tablet, personally, is that it has no Express Keys. Aside from the two buttons on the stylus, you have no other keys to assign some shortcuts.

This isn’t the most important feature, but I always find it quite useful. Instead of going to the keyboard, having a few keys with the most basic tools or commands nearby makes things quicker!

Overall, this is a very good tablet that is well under 50$ and perfect for beginners.

Price: 24.99$

Reviews: 4.3/5 ⭐

Features: 2/5 ⭐

Ease of Use: 5/5 ⭐

Extras: 1/5 ⭐

Pros

Small and inexpensive;
Perfect for traveling;
Battery-free pen, so you can draw at any time, anywhere;
Compatible with most drawing software (Photoshop, Clip Studio, Krita, Gimp, Painter, etc.);
Easy to use.

Cons

No Express Key buttons, aside from the two buttons on the stylus;
Too small. You run out of room very quickly, so if you’re someone who prefers to work on big canvasses, this tablet isn’t for you;
Works better on mobile than on a computer or laptop. Since it’s a smaller tablet, it’s more comfortable to use with a smaller device.

Dimensions: 211x174mm (~8.3×6.8 inches) with a working area of 165.1×101.6 mm (~6.5×4 inches)

What’s included: Tablet, Battery-free pen, Micro USB to USB adapter, USB-C to USB adapter, Micro USB cable, 8 Pen Nibs, 1 2-Finger Glove

For only a few extra bucks, the GAOMON S620 is the perfect beginner drawing tablet. It’s a bit bigger than the previous one, but I feel that those extra millimeters do make a great difference!

This tablet has more of a squared format, which makes it a bit more comfortable to rest your hand on while drawing.

Not only that, but due to its design, you don’t have to worry a lot if you’re right or left-handed. Both wire and buttons are placed in a way where it will never be an obstacle while drawing.

However, you can still turn it 180º, turn it into left-hand mode through the GAOMON driver software and now, you can easily reach your buttons with the right hand, while drawing with the other!

And yes, I’ve mentioned buttons! The GAOMON S620 has not only two buttons on the stylus, but also 4 Express Keys that you can assign to anything you want.

This means that you can add your most-used shortcuts to both the pen and the tablet, which is really useful and will help you work more efficiently.

This tablet is compatible with Mac Os, Windows, and Android 6.0 OS and higher. Either if you want to work on a computer or a smartphone, you’ll be able to.

As I mentioned before, these smaller tablets work really well on mobile, because the sizes are quite similar. However, the first tablet I ever owned was roughly the same size as this one and it was very comfortable to use on a computer.

Again, the pen is battery-free and this tablet is small enough if you want to travel on the go. Just one cable, pen, tablet, and whichever device you prefer to draw on and you’re set!

One extra little detail that I really like is that the GAOMON S620 comes with a 2-finger glove. These aren’t usually too expensive and you can even make your own.

However, I think it’s a nice added bonus for when you get a new tablet and these gloves will be very useful. It makes it more comfortable for you to use and it will also avoid grease smudges on your new drawing tablet!

Price: 39.99$

Reviews: 4.7/5 ⭐

Features: 4/5 ⭐

Ease of Use: 4/5 ⭐

Extras: 3/5 ⭐

Pros

Really good for playing OSU;
Software is easy to use;
4 Express Keys, perfect to add the most basic shortcuts;
Compatible with most mainstream drawing software;
Easy to set up.

Cons

Small tablet. If you’re someone who prefers to draw on a bigger canvas, you’ll feel the difference.
The pen tends to be a bit flimsy. However, if you take good care of it, it will last for a long time!

Dimensions: 200x166mm (~7.87×6.53 inches) with a working area of 160 x 102mm (~6.3×4 inches)

What’s included: Tablet, battery-free pen, 2 OTG adapters, 18 replacement nibs.

If the size of the first HUION tablet I mentioned in this article seems too small, then this one might feel better! It has a squarer format, similar to the previous tablet, which makes it more comfortable to draw.

Not only that but this time you also have 4 customizable Express keys!

While pen nibs aren’t too expensive, generally, this tablet actually comes with 18 nibs.

Now we all work differently and might run out of nibs faster or slower. But, personally, I rarely need to change mine, meaning they’ll last for a long, long time.

So with 18 extra nibs, it will probably take you quite some time until you run out of them and need to buy more.

Now, as for a drawing glove… it’s not really clear if it comes with one or not. According to the product description, it does come with one and I’ve found videos where the package does bring the glove.

However, I’ve also found reviews in which the package is missing a drawing glove.

Personally, the drawing glove would make this tablet shine and would make it the perfect package for a beginner artist!

All in all, I think it’s a decent beginner tablet: very compact and easy to bring with you or to draw at home and start your drawing journey.

Again it can be used in both Windows and Mac OS as well as Android 6.0 and onwards. It’s also compatible with most drawing software, both paid and free, like GIMP, Krita, Clip Studio, Photoshop, SAI, etc.

If you’re curious about some free drawing software and want to learn more about them, I really recommend this article where I talk about some of the best free drawing software for artists!

Price: 39.99$

Reviews: 4.5/5 ⭐

Features: 3/5 ⭐

Ease of Use: 5/5 ⭐

Extras: 2/5 ⭐

Pros

It’s a very flat and lightweight tablet, meaning you can very easily bring with you inside a bag or backpack;
Battery-free pen;
4 Express Keys along with other 2 buttons on the pen that you can assign to any shortcut you want;
Good size for an entry drawing tablet to test the waters of digital art.

Cons

For some reason, the tablet working area is reduced when connected to the phone, meaning you have a much smaller space to draw on;
Express keys do not work on mobile either, you can set them up on your computer, but won’t work on your phone;
It’s not clear if the box comes with a drawing glove or not. Past boxes seem to have it, however, the most recent ones don’t, which can be a bit of a bummer.

Dimensions: 190x162mm (~7.4×6.37 inches) with an active area of 152x101mm (~6×4 inches)

What’s included: Drawing tablet, battery-free pen, 1 USB cable, and 20 pen nibs.

I’ve only recently tried an XP-Pen tablet. I’ve reviewed the Deco Pro MW and fell in love with it! With that said, so far I only have good things to say about this brand.

Their tablets come very well accommodated and are very easy to set up and start drawing.

The XP-Pen G640 is similar to all the previous tablets in terms of size and you can change from right to left-handed mode very easily.

The tablet is very flat and small.

Small enough that it can even fit in a pocket if they’re big enough!

Again, the squarer format makes it perfect to position your tablet in the most comfortable position.

Do you prefer for it to be right in front of you, between the laptop and yourself? Then you can do just that.

On the other hand, would you rather have it to the side of your laptop, so you can easily reach the keyboard? That’s possible as well!

I found that squarer tablets have more freedom of positioning. Rectangular tablets are a bit more limiting when you can’t turn them vertically.

For me, they just feel comfortable when they stand right in front of you. If you put them to the side, it feels quite straining and we don’t want that while drawing!

When looking for a drawing tablet you want not only something that works well but also something that is ergonomic and will give you a good drawing position.

So, for beginner artists, I think it’s good to have something with a very simple format, so you can move it around and see where you feel more comfortable drawing!

XP-Pen has excellent products and I feel that this is a very good entry tablet. It doesn’t come with a whole lot of extras, however, it comes with 20 replacement nibs that will last you for quite a long time.

Price: 33.99$

Reviews: 4.3/5 ⭐

Features: 2/5 ⭐

Ease of Use: 4/5 ⭐

Extras: 2/5 ⭐

Pros

Easy to set up;
Great customer service. If you have any problem, it will most likely be solved;
Compatible with most popular drawing software;

Cons

Too thin. If not careful, it might bend easily;
Seems to work better on Windows than Mac OS, so if you own the latter, I’d say to choose one of the other options;
No shortcut buttons aside from the ones on the stylus.

The Best Drawing Tablet Under 50$

Now that we’ve gone through all the features, pros, and cons of the drawing tablets under 50$, here’s my favorite one!

The best drawing tablet under 50$ (for me) is the GAOMON S620.

Out of all of them, this one has the best size for a beginner, while still being comfortable. You can use it in right or left-handed mode and it comes with the most complete package (compared to all the other tablets).

Not only that, but according to all the reviews I’ve read through, the GAOMON S620 seems to be a very comfortable tablet with very minimal issues. You can use it both on the computer and mobile with no problem at all.

One thing to be prepared when buying a tablet under 50$ is that you won’t find anything bigger than the ones listed in this article.

Of course, this can be both a pro and a con. For me, I prefer to work on a medium-sized tablet.

However, you might prefer something small for now or even plan to draw on the road, so a small size might be perfect for you!

If you’re studying and need to bring your drawing tablet to school, then I’d absolutely recommend one of these tablets that are quite small and light.

However, if you feel like this size won’t be comfortable for you and will work mostly from home, then I have a few options right here, where I recommend different types of drawing tablets according to their size!