The best laptops for drawing and digital art: Find beautiful screens, perfect for artists

Three of the best laptops for drawing on a yellow background
(Image credit: Future / Microsoft / HP)

These laptops are best for drawing and digital art because they have touchscreens that can be used with a stylus – and often fold flat. This adds up to a surprisingly natural and intuitive art experience. But since these machines have a host of different features, picking the right one isn't easy.

We've asked our experts to road-test a range of the best laptops for artists. They've both tested them by running our carefully crafted benchmark tests geared towards creatives, as well as actually drawing on each device using different software to find out what they're like to use in practice. In particular, our testing pays attention to the colour accuracy, resolution and responsiveness of the screens – as that's the most important thing when you're creating art on a laptop.

Erlingur Einarsson headshot
Erlingur Einarrson

Erlingur is knee-deep in laptops for most of the day, everyday. After testing over 100 laptops, he is a champion of finding the most powerful tech to do the job for all types of creative workflows – and has personally developed rigorous testing processes specifically for creatives. He loves ASUS machines because of the innovation onboard.

Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

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Key features
AttributesNotesRating
PriceGood value★★★★
DesignSleek and sharp★★★★★
PerformanceGreat for drawing, not for moving images★★★
Battery lifeAbove average★★★★
Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson headshot
Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson

The ASUS ProArt PZ13 is the most compact member of ASUS' newly retooled ProArt family, but it's certainly not the runt of the litter. It's unique and ideal for creatives.

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Key features
AttributesNotesRating
PricePremium pricing★★★
DesignInnovative and versatile★★★★★
PerformanceGood for art, moderate for heavy tasks★★★★
Battery lifeBelow average★★★
Our expert says
Paul Hatton, a photo of a smiling man
Our expert says
Paul Hatton

The Microsoft Laptop Studio 2 is a pro laptop with a beautifully engineered design and a stunningly good display. It has a high starting price, though.

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Key features
AttributesNotesRating
PriceExcellent value★★★★★
DesignSolid build quality★★★★
PerformanceGood for ChromeOS apps★★★★
Battery lifeAbove average★★★★
Our expert says
Ian Dean headshot
Our expert says
Ian Dean

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 features a 14-inch touchscreen and a quad-core AMD powered performance. It's a seriously smart 2-in-1 that is great for drawing.

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Key features
AttributesNotesRating
PricePremium pricing★★★
DesignExcellent build quality★★★★★
PerformanceExcellent (Intel), Good (SQ3) ★★★★ (Intel) ★★★ (SQ3)
Battery lifeExcellent (SQ3), Good (Intel) ★★★★★ (SQ3) ★★★★ (Intel)
Our expert says
Ian Dean headshot
Our expert says
Ian Dean

The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is a quality 2-in-1 laptop that feels great to use. Just make sure you pick the right build for you.

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Key features
AttributesNotesRating
PriceCompetitive for features offered★★★★
DesignThin, light and portable★★★★
PerformanceImpressive, with Good with AI acceleration★★★★★
Battery lifeAbove average★★★★★
Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson headshot
Our expert says
Erlingur Einarsson

If you're looking for lots of power in a fairly lightweight package but don't need top-level graphics grunt, the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED is ideal.

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Key features
AttributesNotesRating
PricePremium but justified★★★★
DesignElegant and practical★★★★★
PerformanceStrong CPU, limited GPU★★★★
Battery lifeAbove average★★★★
Our expert says
Ian Evenden profile shot
Our expert says
Ian Evenden

The HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) is a class operator. The OLED screen is responsive and the stylus comes included.

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Key features
AttributesNotesRating
PricePremium pricing★★★★
DesignInnovative dual-screen★★★★★
PerformanceStrong CPU, limited GPU★★★★
Battery lifeLimited with two screens★★★★
Our expert says
Ian Evenden profile shot
Our expert says
Ian Evenden

This 2-in-1 allows you incredible flexibility and is a joy to use. The price tag might be high but in this case, I think it's worth it.

Huawei Matebook X Pro

Huawei Matebook X Pro
The Huawei Matebook X Pro is a powerful laptop that will deal with even the most demanding creative software too. It's lightweight, looks gorgeous and the OLED touchscreen is a delight. The only downsides are the lack of ports, the high price, and the fact that all that power might be overkill if you just want a laptop to draw.

Read our 4.5-star review.

Erlingur Einarsson
Tech Reviews Editor

Erlingur is the Tech Reviews Editor on Creative Bloq. Having worked on magazines devoted to Photoshop, films, history, and science for over 15 years, as well as working on Digital Camera World and Top Ten Reviews in more recent times, Erlingur has developed a passion for finding tech that helps people do their job, whatever it may be. He loves putting things to the test and seeing if they're all hyped up to be, to make sure people are getting what they're promised. Still can't get his wifi-only printer to connect to his computer. 

With contributions from