The Best Wacom Cintiq Alternatives

Cintiq alternatives have come a long way over the last few years. This year I’ve been trying to review some of them and there are some really good ones out there.

Cintiq Pro 13

Wacom Cintiq Pro 16″

The 13 and 16 inch Cintiq’s are the top of the line graphic tablets out there right now. What makes them special are the screens, especially on the 16 inch. They have reduced the space between the glass and the screen reducing parallax and making drawing much more accurate in the process. That and the general quality of the pen are what separates Wacom from all the imitators.

Cintiq Pro 24

Cintiq Pro 24 and 32

These are Wacom's top of the line displays. They have the price tag to prove it. I reviewed the 24 and absolutely loved it the only real downside was that the touch was a little flaky and I ended up turning it off.

Favorite 13" and 12" I’ve Tested

Huion Kamvas 12

This is the best budget pen display out there. Period. You can often find it for only $200 like on Walmart and at that price this is a fantastic value. The pen is very good the screen is good for its size. It even has shortcut keys. The only downside is that a tablet this small can be hard to tap on some smaller interface elements in some painting applications.

Huion Kamvas Pro 12

Huion Kamvas Pro 13 (2.5k)

Like the larger 13 this has a great laminated screen at a great price and the pen has tilt support. The biggest upgrade here is the 2.5k display which looks fantastic on this smaller screen.

the xp-pen artist 12

XP-Pen Artist 12 (2nd gen)

Both of these are quite good for the price. The addition of a laminated screen is a nice addition and really reduces parallax. The latest version of the pen XP is using is also really good and jitter free.

Price for the 12: $230 See on Amazon See on Walmart

Favorite 15.6" I’ve Tested

Gaomon PD1560

1. Huion Kamvas Pro 16 2.5K

This is the sweet spot, it's got more pixels than the standard HD Huion tablets and at 16" the screen looks crisp and nice. The 4k version does look better but it costs more. this balances cost with quality and is my main recommendation.

Price: $599.00 See it on Amazon
Gaomon PD1560

2. Huion Kamvas Pro 16 4k (2021)

This is the Huion's first 4k display and it comes in 2 flavors. The Plus and the non-plus. The only difference between the two is the color gambit. This might be the BEST tablet on this list but because of the price it's not the best value.

Gaomon PD1560

3. Huion Kamvas 16 (2021)

This is is the budget priced 16" Huion. It's got the really good Huion pen but it cuts some corners to save you some money. What corners are cut? the screen resolution is only 1080p and there isn't a scroll wheel, just shortcut buttons. Still a very good tablet especially at this price.

Gaomon PD1560

4. XP-Pen Artist Pro 16 TP (2021)

What makes this special is the inclusion of multi touch. This feature doesn't come without a price. Overall I'm placing this Under the Huion's above it because the pen isn't quite as good even though it does have the bells and whistles the others don't.

Price: $899.00 See it on Amazon
Gaomon PD1560

5. XP-Pen Artist 16 (2nd Gen) 2022 model

The new budget priced 16" XP-Pen display comes in several colors and is a pretty slick design. The pen is pretty good but there is some wave to slow angled lines which is why Huion is higher on this list for me. But other than that this is a very good display tablet.

Price: $379.99 See it on Amazon
XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro

6. Wacom Cintiq 16 (2019)

What's this doing on a Cintiq alternative list? It is a Cintiq!?! It deserves to be here because of its low price point. If what you need is the best best pen with no compromises this is it. The downsides are that this does not have a laminated display so you have some parallax and there are also no shortcut keys on the device. It's also more expensive than some better devices on this list so I don't feel it's a great value.

Favorite Large Screens I’ve Tested

Huion KAMVAS 24 Pro 4k

This is the best pen display Huion Makes. The screen looks amazing, the pen works great it checks all the boxes. The only downside is the price. But if you want a great and BIG Wacom alternative here it is. Also worth noting there is no touch like you will find on Some Cintiq Pros

Price: $1299 See it on Amazon

Huion Kamvas 24 Plus

This is just as good to draw on as the Huion above but it's a lower price because of the 2.5k display and no shortcut remote. It's still very good for it's size.

XP-Pen Artist 22 (2nd gen)

This has the X3 pen that has some wave to it when drawing slow angled lines. If you are OK with using some line smoothing on your pen this tablet is a great deal, it's low priced for its size and the screen looks ok. It's not super high res but the colors and brightness are good.

Price: $469.00 See it on Amazon

Drawing Tablet Guides

Trying to figure out what's out there? What's good, what's bad? Check out the categories below

The Best Pen Tablets


The Best Screen Based Tablets


The Best Windows Tablets/Laptops


iPads and Android Tablets


Drawing Software

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