The graphic tablet is one of the most necessary accessories in the graphic artist's studio.
It allows artists to use a pen to make creative design such as incredible artwork, illustrations, and animations onto the computer screen.
In addition, it speeds up workflow, improves precision and offers greater ergonomics than a mouse.
Wacom is a well-known brand in the world of digital art, but their tablets can be quite expensive.
Fortunately, there are some best wacom alternatives that offer the same quality and performance without breaking the bank.
Why is Wacom considered the Best?
Wacom is considered by many to be the industry standard. Wacom has been creating drawing tablets for years. They are well known for creating reliable, long-lasting products, with a lot of key tech.
In the industry, most artists use Wacom products because of their quality, durability and superior accurate and precise.
Wacom is known for providing quality driver support. Their tablet drivers continue receiving updates long after a product is released.
Is the Wacom worth the Money?
Wacom tablets are very expensive, It costs twice as much as some of its counterparts in the market.
However, the brand is renowned for its high quality, And their tablet offers an accurate and pleasant drawing performance. In addition, there are some brand premiums.
If you are professional and have a flexible enough budget, then you shouldn't think twice about getting the Wacom.
What types of tablet does the Wacom Offer?
Wacom provides intuos pen tablets for beginners, Cintiq interactive pen displays, and MobileStudio Pro standalone drawing pads to equip and inspire everyone to make the world a more creative place.
Wacom Intuos and Intuos Pro are drawing tablets without a screen, so you need to draw on the tablet while looking at your computer screen.
These drawing tablets aren't as powerful as others but they are the most affordable. This makes them the best option for budding artists who want to start doing digital art without spending too much on a tablet, for now.
Wacom Cintiq has an Integrated screen that comes in various sizes and provide a pen-on-screen experience for precise and natural drawing.
Although the Cintiq models have a screen of their own, they are not “standalone tablets”. They need to be plugged in to your computer to work, and will use your computer's resources to work.
Wacom MobileStudio Pro is a computer and a portable small Cintiq, much like a Microsoft Surface, iPad and samsung galaxy tab.
Therefore, they don't need to be connected to your computer to be able to work with them. It's portable, easy to use, and allows you to draw on the go.
Still, they have one noticeable flaw: the price.
What brand competes with Wacom?
There are a hand full of really good competitive brands out there, and it's really hard to beat prices. Lots of features for a fraction of the Wacom price.
1. Huion
Huion is a chinese company, which was established in 2011. Its logo is a representation of 3 pencils. The number three symbolizes in the Chinese culture “stability, balance, the tripartite confrontation and development”.
Huion uses independent innovations to build digital panel and screen systems, stylus pens and other professional product lines.
At this moment, it has a total of three series: Inspiroy, Kamvas, and Kamvas Studio. They all have very iconic characteristics and you can select the right model that fits your demand.
2. XP-Pen
XPPen is another Chinese brand that makes great drawing tablets. It was originally founded in Japan in 2005 and is now affiliated with a parent Chinese company, Hanvon Ugee.
It is a professional and reliable supplier of graphic tablets, pen display monitors, stylus pens and more digital graphical products.
XP-Pen has a huge variety of graphic tablets as well as drawing accessories. Right now, the company provides tablets from 3 different series: Star Series Tablet, Deco Series Tablet, Artists Series Display tablet.
XP-Pen is currently the only company which offers company-developed Linux drivers (still in beta testing). As a comparison, Wacom's Linux drivers are community-developed, and are not actually official drivers.
3. Gaomon
Gaomon is a Chinese high-tech enterprise that is known for independently researching and developing core technology such as animation products and handwritten input digitizer products.
Since our establishment in 2011, GAOMON has developed over ten digital products that have found applications in various fields.
4. Ugee
Ugee is a professional manufacturer specializing in research, development, production, and sale of pen tablets and pen displays.
Founded in Shenzhen, China in 1998, they also established UGEE online drawing school, which served to help young artists learn about and improve their digital drawing skills.
5. Veikk
Founded in china in 2009, Veikk has been dedicated to the research, design, R&D, production, and marketing of digital pen tablets and we have obtained more than 60 product patents.
6. Xencelabs
Xencelabs is a new company which seems to be created by many veterans in the tablet field, such as developers with prior experience in Wacom and other such tablet companies.
Xencelabs developed about 5 different tablet models, 1 of them have a display surface.
How to Choose the Best Wacom Alternative Graphics Tablet?
When considering an alternative to Wacom, it's essential to consider factors such as pen pressure sensitivity, display quality, size, compatibility with software, and overall user experience.
Reading reviews, comparing specifications, and considering your specific requirements and budget will help you find the best alternative that meets your needs.
12 Best Wacom Alternatives in 2023
In this list of the best Wacom alternative models you will find on-par performance whether you need Wacom Intuos alternatives, Cintiq alternatives, or the MobileStudio alternatives, you will find it here!
1. Gaomon S620
2. XP-Pen Deco 01 V2
3. XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd gen)
4. Huion Kamvas 13
5. Ugee U1600
6. Huion Kamvas Pro 16
7. Huion Kamvas 22 Plus
8. XP-Pen Artist 24 Pro
9. Huion Kamvas Pro 24
10. Apple iPad Pro
11. Samsung Galxy Tab S9
12. Microsoft Surface pro 9
Conclusion
In the end, you're just trying to reduce cost and get decently cheap products to make simple art, not to pay more to get the most performance tablet for professional drawing.
Wacom alternatives are not equal to wacom, but it's close. Every year their products get better and bette.
It's worth looking for good, affordable Wacom alternatives. For the rest of us hobby artists, spending that much is just not in the cards. But it's perfectly possible to find a suitable alternative without sacrificing quality.
With 10 tablets to choose from, Now you should be able to find the best Wacom alternative without going over budget. We hope you'll find this list useful!
Having a great pen tablet is always a good investment for an artist. Once you get used to using your device, you'll never want to use a mouse ever again.
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