Drawing Tablet With Screen vs Without: Which Should You Buy?

If you're deciding between a pen display and a screenless tablet, the short answer is: screenless tablets work better for most experienced artists, and pen displays make more sense if you're just starting out or do lettering work. Budget is a factor too — a good pen display costs two to three times more than a comparable pen tablet.

Here's the full breakdown.

What's the actual difference?

A drawing tablet with a screen (pen display) lets you draw directly on the display surface. Your hand and pen are in the same place as the image. A drawing tablet without a screen (pen tablet) is a flat sensor pad. You draw on it while looking at your monitor, which sits separately on your desk.

The pressure sensitivity and line accuracy are the same at this price range. The difference is purely about how you interact with the surface.

Both types of drawing tablet use the same underlying EMR (electromagnetic resonance) technology. The pen doesn't need a battery, and the sensor reads pressure, tilt, and position the same way regardless of whether there's a screen on top. What you're paying for in a pen display is the display hardware itself, not any improvement in the actual drawing mechanics.

Drawing tablet with a screen (pen display)

You see your strokes appear directly under the pen tip. For most people new to digital art, this feels immediately natural. There is no disconnect between hand and eye, which removes one of the main frustrations beginners run into when switching from paper.

Who it is actually for:

Beginners who find screenless drawing tablets frustrating will benefit most from a pen display. The same goes for artists doing lettering, calligraphy, or detailed inking where precise placement matters. If you are coming from traditional media and want the closest feel to drawing on paper, a pen display is the more familiar experience.

Professional animators and illustrators who work at studios often use pen displays for tasks that require tight visual alignment, like tracing over reference or doing frame-by-frame corrections. The screen makes it easier to place lines exactly where they need to go without relying on muscle memory.

ugee pen display options worth knowing:

The ugee UE16 (15.4 inches) is one of the most popular entry-level pen displays available. It has 16384 levels of pressure sensitivity, full lamination so there is no gap between pen tip and image, and covers 143% sRGB color space. At $189 it sits in a range where you get professional-grade pressure response without overspending on a first setup. The screen supports color space switching between sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3, which matters if you do any print or video work.

The ugee UE12 PLUS (11.9 inches) is the compact option. It has 99% sRGB coverage, a scroll wheel, and a floating screen mode that lets it function as a standalone secondary display. If desk space is limited or you want something easier to move around, this is worth considering over the UE16. You can compare both models on the ugee UE16 product page.

The real downsides of pen displays:

Neck and shoulder strain is the most common complaint from artists who use pen displays for long sessions. If you position the screen flat and hunch over it for hours, you will feel it. Posture matters more here than with a screenless drawing tablet. The display also generates heat during extended use, which some artists find distracting.

Parallax is another factor. Even with full lamination, there is a slight visual offset between where the pen tip touches the glass and where the cursor appears. On fully laminated screens like the UE16, this offset is minimal, but it does exist. Cheaper pen displays without lamination have a more noticeable gap, which makes precise work harder rather than easier.

And the cost is higher. You pay for the screen hardware even though it does not improve your actual drawing quality over a good screenless drawing tablet.

Drawing tablet without a screen (pen tablet)

You draw on a flat surface while looking at your monitor. This sounds counterintuitive at first, and it genuinely takes adjustment. Most people need two to four weeks before the hand-eye separation stops being noticeable. Some artists pick it up faster, some take longer.

Once past that adjustment period, most working illustrators prefer screenless drawing tablets. The ergonomics are better for long sessions, the hardware lasts longer because there is no display to wear out, and you are not craning your neck over a screen all day. The tablet itself sits at a more natural angle on the desk, and you can look straight ahead at your monitor without hunching.

The other underappreciated advantage is screen quality. When you use a screenless drawing tablet, you are drawing on your main monitor, which is almost certainly better calibrated and higher resolution than the display built into a mid-range pen display. If color accuracy matters to your work, this is not a minor point.

Who a screenless drawing tablet is actually for:

Artists who are willing to invest the adjustment time tend to get a better long-term setup with a screenless tablet. Anyone drawing for more than two hours at a time will appreciate the ergonomics. Screenless drawing tablets are also the right choice if budget is a constraint, if you travel between setups, or if you already draw digitally and just want an upgrade.

ugee pen tablet options worth knowing:

The ugee M808 (10 by 6.25 inch active area) has 16384 pressure levels, a scroll wheel, and 8 express keys. It works with Windows, Mac, and Android. The active area is large enough for comfortable full-arm drawing without feeling cramped on detail work. The ugee S640 is the compact option at 6.3 by 4 inches, with 8192 pressure levels and 10 express keys, available in three colors. A reasonable first drawing tablet purchase if you want to test the workflow before committing more money.

The real downsides of screenless tablets:

The adjustment period is real. It is not difficult, but it is not instant either. If you sit down expecting to draw well on day one, a screenless drawing tablet will be frustrating. For work that requires very precise visual placement such as tracing over a reference or doing tight lettering, the hand-eye disconnect is more noticeable. Some artists keep a pen display specifically for that type of task even if they use a screenless drawing tablet for everything else.

Active area mapping also takes some getting used to. The drawing tablet maps its full active area to your monitor. If you use a large monitor, the movement-to-cursor ratio can feel awkward until you find the right sensitivity settings in the driver software.

Which one should you actually get?

Get a pen display if:

• You are a complete beginner and want to skip the adjustment period
• Your work relies on precise pen placement such as lettering or tracing
• You have the budget and want the most natural feel from the start
• You work on projects that require tight visual alignment with references

Get a screenless drawing tablet if:

• You are willing to spend two to four weeks adjusting
• You draw for more than two hours at a time regularly
• You want to spend less on hardware and more on software or training
• You move between locations or work at multiple desks

If you are genuinely unsure: start with a screenless drawing tablet. The ugee M808 or S640 are affordable enough that if you decide later you want a pen display, switching is not a major loss. Buying a display first and then deciding you prefer screenless is the more expensive lesson. Our guide to drawing tablets under $200 covers how the options compare at different price points if budget is guiding your decision.

ugee options at a glance

All four use battery-free EMR pens and are compatible with Windows, Mac, and Android. If you are primarily drawing on Android, the ugee UT3 Android drawing tablet is a separate category worth looking at. It combines a standalone screen with native Android compatibility in a way that neither of these two types fully covers.

Is a drawing tablet with a screen easier to use?

For most beginners, yes. When you draw on a pen display, the hand-eye coordination feels natural from the start. With a screenless drawing tablet, you are drawing on one surface while looking at another, which takes real adjustment. Most artists get comfortable after two to four weeks of regular use. If you want to draw well from day one without frustration, a pen display is the easier starting point.

Do professionals use pen displays or screenless tablets?

Most working illustrators and concept artists use screenless drawing tablets for daily work. The ergonomics hold up better across long sessions and the hardware lasts longer. Pen displays are common in animation studios, lettering, and educational settings where precise visual alignment is part of the process. Many professionals keep both types depending on the project.

Can I switch from a screenless to a screen drawing tablet later?

Yes, and it is easier than the original adjustment. Pen skills transfer completely since pressure sensitivity, line control, and tilt recognition work the same way regardless of device type. The only adjustment when switching to a pen display is re-learning to look down at the surface rather than at your monitor. Most artists find this takes a few days rather than weeks.

Is a pen display worth the extra cost?

It depends on what is slowing you down. If the screenless adjustment period feels like a wall stopping you from drawing, a pen display removes that wall. If you are already comfortable with a drawing tablet, the extra cost probably will not improve your output. A good screenless tablet with a large active area does the same job for less. Our guide on how to choose a pen display is worth reading if you are leaning toward a screen-based option.

What size drawing tablet should I get?

For screenless tablets, a medium active area around 10 by 6 inches is the standard recommendation. Large tablets require more arm movement and small ones feel cramped on detailed work. For pen displays, 13 to 16 inches is the practical range for desk use. Size affects how much arm movement is needed for full-canvas strokes, which matters more once you have been drawing digitally for a while.