For someone who's just getting started in the digital art world, it makes perfect sense to get an extremely cheap device at first in order to get used to how things work before moving to a more professional graphics tablet.

If your budget doesn't allow for the Wacom intuos or Intuos Pro tablets, and you are looking for a cheap, small but really quality beginner drawing tablet, you have probably heard of Huion H420X and XP-Pen Star G430S.

They are among the most sold drawing tablet in the world. Because when we take into consideration price and features, these tablets offers the best deal currently available.

If you're torn between Huion H420X vs XP-Pen Star G430S because of the pricing and feature disparities, this comparison will help you find out which one is better or provide more value for money.

Brands

XP-Pen was founded in Japan in 2005, and Huion in China 2011. But Now XP-Pen is also a chinese brand.

Huion and XP-Pen are very similar brands, They are both targeting the exact same audience: those who want professional grade drawing tablets without having to pay the premium that Wacom charges.

Neither were releasing particularly standout products at first, with their products being generic tablets unable to compete with Wacom. Now They stand side by side as fairly equal, and can even hold their own against Wacom.

The quality and performance of their products is almost identical! Most of your decision between them will be figuring out which specific tablet would suit you best, as there are often small functional differences between their equivalent tablets.

Build Quality and Design

Huion H420X is 7mm in thickness, It's solid build with zero flex, minimalist style.

XP-Pen Star G430S tablet is also just a drawing surface with nothing else to it. But the top section of the tablet is much thicker than the drawing area.

The drawing area is only 2mm thick, So it's easier to rest your hand on it, and you can actually use it comfortably even with your hand half off of the tablet!

Size of Active Area

The Huion H420X tablet has a compact working area of 4.17x2.6 inches, while the active area on the XP-Pen Star G430S is actually marginally larger at 4x3 inches.

The active area is mapped to the whole screen. With such a small surface, everything you draw will be magnified much larger.

If you have a large size screen more than 22-inch, it is quite difficult to avoid having a shaking hand because of how small the tablet drawing space is. And it gets annoying pretty fast.

However, These tablets are Highly portable, these are great for those who like to draw on the go with a laptop.

Additionally, Although the drawing area is small, it works exactly the same way as all the other graphics tablets in the market.

Pressure Sensitivity

Both of the tablets have 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 LPI resolution, and > 200 PPS report rate, which are pretty amazing for such a cheap price.

The professional levels of pressure sensitivity allows a lot more control and expressivity. Higher resolution and increased response rate do actually translate to smoother and more precise lines and gestures on the tablet, and it is a better choice for artists and for lots of other uses.

They both work surprisingly well – really smooth and accurate pen to surface interaction, and a great feeling when working.

Stylus Pen

XP-Pen Star g430S tablet comes with a PN01 stylus, which is made of a simple matte plastic with two buttons. It is a fairly light battery-free pen but it feels quite durable and dependable.

The Huion H420X comes with a Huion's PW100 pen, which is standard stylus for most of this manufacturer's Inspiroy and HS tablets. It's also a solid, battery-free stylus with two buttons.

One significant difference from the XP-Pen PN01 Stylus is that this Huion PW100 stylus has a rubber grip and feels comfortable to hold when working.

Both styluses are battery-free, This means that the stylus works just like a real pen, no battery and no charging required, allowing for constant uninterrupted use.

Connectivity and Compatibility

XP-Pen Star G430S is only compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux Devices. It comes with a simple USB-A cable to connect to your computer.

On the other hand, Huion H420X is widely compatible with Linux, Windows, Mac, Android and Chromebook.

This Huion tablet even comes with a USB-C connector that goes to a USB-A, and it comes with two other small adapters for a USB-A to USB-C, or USB-A to micro USB, for your Android phone.

Drivers

Both brands have drivers that can be downloaded from their official websites. Once you have your tablet, you can download the software to customize different settings for the styluses and the tablet itself.

But the experience can vary, Some users might prefer the software interface or find better compatibility with XP-Pen, while others might prefer Huion's software.

Accessories

You can be certain that they will both include crucial accessories such as replacement nibs, pen nib clip, stylus, USB cable, and a Quick Start Guide.

However, the Huion H420 comes with 8 extra nibs while XP-Pen G430s has 20 replacement nibs.That's worth appreciating!

Bonus Software

When you purchase your XP-Pen Star G430S tablet, you get a 45-day trail of Toon Boom Harmony (2D animation software) and a 3-month Individual Plan of Explain Everything (online whiteboard).

Unfortunately, huion H420X does not include any bonus software.

Price

If you were to go to Amazon right now and buy both tablets, the Huion 420 would cost you $19.99 whereas the XP-Pen Star G430S tablet would cost you $21.99. Just a little difference.

Conclusion

Which is better for you? They are both fantastic, premium products for the money, but the Huion H420X is, in my mind, a better tablet. But it really depends on your preference and needs.

We can really recommend the 2 tablets for any beginners who want to try out digital art with a really low starting price, or just don't have the budget to afford anything bigger.

They are highly portable and great for playing OSU, Taking Notes, Editing Photos, Annotating PDFs, Writing, Signing documents, online Teaching and more.

However, if you can spare more money for your tablet, We would suggest that you try to get something with a bigger 6×4 drawing area like the XP-Pen Star G640 or Huion HS64 for the slightly more comfortable and controlled drawing experience.

Source: https://pctechtest.com/huion-h420x-vs-xppen-star-g430s