Guide to the graphics tablet size to get

Submitted by  Teoh Yi Chie on  January 23, 2016 - 3:27 pm

One of the most frequently asked questions from my Wacom Intuos video review is that of the tablet size to get: "What tablet size should I get?"

Generally speaking, you'll want the graphic tablet size to be close to the size of your monitor.

A good size to get is the Medium. For Wacom, this is around 6 by 8 inches, or around A5 size. I personally find that to be a comfortable size to work with.

The tablet surface is mapped to the whole screen. That means if you have a small surface, everything you draw will be magnified much larger. 1cm on the tablet surface could translate to 4-5 cm on the screen. There's a mismatch because you expect your short stroke to appear short on the screen but it will come out much longer. It will certainly take time to get used to using a small tablet.

For medium size tablets, the difference of your tablet stroke and screen stroke is not as much, and hence it feels more natural to see your strokes come out the way they are on screen.

For large tablets, the difference is even less. However, I find that it can be quite tiring to use a large tablet because your hand has more distance to cover. When you're drawing in a sketchbook, usually your hands do not have to travel that far. With a large tablet, sometimes your hand has to travel further to reach the menus, palettes which are all over the screen.

Using large tablets with a small screen, e.g. laptop screens, can feel awkward at times and will take a while to get used to it.

My recommendation

Screens below 19-inches: Get the small tablet
Screens above 19-inches: Get the medium tablet
If you want really fine detail control, get the large tablet.

If you have the budget, the medium sized tablet is one that's the all rounder. I'm very comfortable with it even when used with a 27-inch screen.

You can check out the various Wacom and Huion tablet models and reviews on Amazon.

And check out my Wacom Intuos 2015 review.

Tags
drawing tablet reviews
pen tablet reviews
art product reviews

Comments

Hibah (not verified) Fri, 27 Mar 2020 - 09:36

Hi I'm having trouble in deciding which size to get even though your guidelines are very helpful. My laptop screen size is around 15" so was thinking of getting the Huion H640p . But for more detailed work I was thinking the Huion 1060plus. Which one would you recommend? Any help will be greatly appreciated best hibah

Abby (not verified) Thu, 16 Apr 2020 - 18:40

Hi! I have read and watch you’re reviews on tablets and sizing but I am still unsure as to what size I would like to get. My monitor is 24 inches and I am unsure whether to get the Huion 20 inch pro or the Huion 16 inch pro tablet. Both the 2019 version. This is my first drawing tablet as I want to get into digital art and draw landscapes, people, and animals. I also would like to use the tablet for a couple of years as well. Which would you recommend?

laura (not verified) Sun, 03 May 2020 - 08:00

Hi,

I am struggling with making a decision in terms of what graphic tablet size to buy. I do have a 13 inches laptop.

it would be my first tablet and i would use it for online teaching, so mainly writing notes, drawing and labelling simple diagrams, etc.

What would you recommend? I am doubting between a small or medium Wacom Intuos.

John smith (not verified) Thu, 14 May 2020 - 09:37

Hi, I have a 25" monitor and would like to get a medium tablet but a small one is much more in my price range. How bad would it be to draw on a 6x3.7" pad?

Teoh Yi Chie Sat, 16 May 2020 - 09:58

@John smith
Medium is definitely more comfortable to work with. There are many companies nowadays that sell affordable tablets at those sizes. Go check out XP-Pen, Parblo, Huion.

Ashkart (not verified) Thu, 30 Jul 2020 - 23:43

I have a 13inch laptop
Which one is suitable huion 640p/ wacom CTL 471
Or bigger tablet?

Ashkart (not verified) Fri, 31 Jul 2020 - 18:37

I'm getting a used 8.5x 5.3 inches wacom CTL 672
Is that okay size wise?
Because that's the only thing that fits in my budget

María (not verified) Tue, 11 Aug 2020 - 20:47

That's my case too. Sorry, What tablet did you find better?

k (not verified) Wed, 04 Nov 2020 - 12:38

Thanks for this advice. and it ways it makes sense. with my old intous 2 i made the scale adjustment in my systems preference. Granted, the computer size was smaller than my 27" mac now. looking to upgrade, I can't figure out why the pro small is approx 11x7' with a drawing are of only 6x4, while the intuos medium is 11x7 with drawing 9x6" , and no explanation online Could you help me understand the difference? I get the increased quality of the pen... but what else?
thank you!!! (and yes i have limited desk space.)

k (not verified) Wed, 04 Nov 2020 - 12:48

Followup... the medium pro is way too big for my desk space, so I am really trying to wrap my head around the benefits of Intuos Pro S over the slightly older Intuos Medium, other than the pen upgrade. Thank you so much for clarifications!!!!!
Ps My (likely bad) math says 4|5 x (6x4) is 24x13 = my 27" diagonal screen. No?

kk

Teoh Yi Chie Wed, 04 Nov 2020 - 13:33

@k
If you have limited table space, there's nothing much to decide. Just get the tablet that can fit onto your table.

Drawing performance of such drawing tablets have matured many years ago so there's no significant difference between models today vs those from 2-4 years ago.

k (not verified) Thu, 05 Nov 2020 - 00:35

the things is that the pro S and the intuos M are the same physical dimensions of 11 x 7". its the drawing area size that differs - so the pros is only 6x4 vs the intuos 9x6..

Ebru Subutay (not verified) Wed, 09 Dec 2020 - 01:58

Hi, i am confused about which tablet to buy. My monitor has 4k resolution and it is 17.3". Will wacom intuos small work well, or wacom one medium will do on my system?

Thanks.

Teoh Yi Chie Thu, 10 Dec 2020 - 11:52

@Ebru Subutay
Small should go well with that monitor size (laptop?). But medium will be more comfortable to work with.

I usually just recommend getting medium size because they aren't that expensive nowadays, unless you have limited table space.

Anushka Ghildiyal (not verified) Thu, 16 Sep 2021 - 14:06

Should i get a wacom one by CTL-672/KO-CX or a Huion HS610?

Anushka Ghildiyal (not verified) Thu, 16 Sep 2021 - 14:11

Hi i have a 13.7" laptop should i buy the Huion HS610 or the Wacom one by CTL-672/KO-CX ??

Andie (not verified) Fri, 24 Sep 2021 - 22:05

@ I have a 17 inch laptop with a 4K monitor - I am wondering whether should get the medium intuos or intuos pro, or is the huion Inspiroy dial a better choice

Teoh Yi Chie Sat, 25 Sep 2021 - 14:29

@Andie
Both brands are good so you can just go with one that fits your budget.

Just get one that's at least 10 x 6 inch in size.

Richard Lindley (not verified) Sun, 12 Dec 2021 - 19:07

I definitely want a Wacom Intuos, either medium or large as you have finger gestures which can rotate (which most tablets lack except for Wacom). At the moment I use a first generation XP-Pen Artist 22 pro which cannot lay flat and has weak corners when using the stand which affect your lines. It definitely has size.

My first thought was a Wacom Intous Pro Large in replacing the 22". Maybe the medium is a better choice. Please tell me your opinion.

JP (not verified) Wed, 02 Mar 2022 - 15:13

Hello, sir. All of my computers range about 14-23 inches. So I'm thinking of getting a medium sized tablet. But aside from the 10"×6" (Deco 01 V2) I'm considering, what else can be called medium?
There are two other tablets I'm comparing: one is 9"×6" (Star G960S Plus) and the other is 9"×5" (Deco Pro S). Are these still considered medium?

Teoh Yi Chie Wed, 02 Mar 2022 - 17:15

@JP
10x6, 9x5, 9x6 are all considered medium sized tablets and go well with monitors maybe up to 27-inches.

Ravindra (not verified) Fri, 01 Apr 2022 - 04:04

What size would you recommend for teaching physics or engineering online?

I would need to draw diagrams and write equations.

Does size really matter if the resolution of the graphics tablet is high?

Teoh Yi Chie Fri, 01 Apr 2022 - 13:07

@Ravindra
Get 10 x 6 inch if you have the budget. It's a good size that pairs well with monitors of various sizes.

The resolution of a drawing tablet is not that important as most tablets have good/high resolution.

Ravindra (not verified) Fri, 01 Apr 2022 - 19:31

@Teoh

Thank you for your reply.

I was wondering if even the middle-size tablet would suffice for solutions/proofs that are of multiple pages.

On the one hand, it would take some getting used to for writing equations on a small tablet.

Not only would I need to write rather small on the tablet, but also the 1:1 mapping would make the screen display (on a laptop/monitor) rather large.

On the other hand, a multiple-page solution would be hard to fit on a single page so even a medium- or large-size tablet would be inadequate by itself.

Some software would need to be used in order to be able to write on multiple pages and scroll back to a previous page.

I did see a YouTube video for creating a video with a tablet and some free software:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3rYfgm0Asw

Actually, a small budget is initially imperative as I would be venturing into unknown territory (the price of a medium-size tablet is roughly twice that of a small tablet [6”x3.5”]).

If a software is a necessary part of the solution, then perhaps a small tablet could do the job.

I have several years of experience teaching on blackboards and whiteboards.

I am also accustomed to a large-scale magnification of mouse movement when using AutoCAD.

However, using a graphic tablet for real-time online teaching is new to me.

Teoh Yi Chie Sat, 02 Apr 2022 - 16:38

@Ravindra
Regardless of the size you get, it will just take some time to get used to the magnification of your pen movement and the actual line you create. I usually recommend 10x6 or 9x6 inch tablets because they are more comfortable to work with, and work will regardless of your monitor size.

A good mid-size tablet can be purchased for less than US $50. Of course the smaller tablets are cheaper.

I don't think paging system of software will be an issue for pen tablets.

Ravindra (not verified) Sat, 02 Apr 2022 - 17:35

@Teoh

Thank you for your reply.

Shoburo (not verified) Tue, 30 Jan 2024 - 15:45

Hello, i'd like to get into digital artworking and never used a graphical tablet before. And i'd like ask what size should i get for a 38" monitor? I was looking around and found some tips and found that for this monitor i should get a 15" tablet. Luckily i found a tablet which is not pricey (xp-pen deco [gen 2]) which has an xl size (15").

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