XP-Pen Deco 01 V3 vs Wacom Intuos (Small)

The XP-Pen Deco 01 V3 delivers the most drawing area, pressure levels, and keys for the least money, making it the smartest first tablet for most people. The Wacom Intuos is the pick if you would rather pay more for the steadiest drivers and the most natural pen feel.

XP-Pen Deco 01 V3

Buy it

A big, feature-loaded screenless tablet at a price that makes rivals look overpriced.

• Generous 10 x 6.25-inch active area gives your arm room to move
• Battery-free pen with 16,384 pressure levels and 60-degree tilt
• Eight customizable express keys and broad OS support (Windows, macOS, Android, Chrome OS, Linux)

• Driver setup can need a little fiddling on first install per owner reports
• Pen tracking on fast diagonals is a hair behind Wacom in independent testing

Check price

Wacom Intuos (Small)

Buy it

The safest first tablet: the most polished pen feel and the steadiest drivers in the category.

• Reviewers consistently rate Wacom's pen tracking and pressure transitions as the most natural
• Drivers are the most stable in the class, with the fewest conflicts in creative apps
• Compact, well-built, with four express keys and Bluetooth on larger versions

• Only 4,096 pressure levels and the standard pen has no tilt support
• Small active area and fewer features than cheaper competitors

Check price

Side by side

The bottom line

Our overall pick is the XP-Pen Deco 01 V3 - A big, feature-loaded screenless tablet at a price that makes rivals look overpriced. Choose the Wacom Intuos (Small) instead if beginners who value reliability and pen feel over raw specs, and anyone burned by flaky drivers before.

Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Graphics Tablets: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).