The best iPad alternatives

The best iPad alternatives can provide much of the functionality you can get from Apple tablets, and sometimes more. And they often cost less. While we're big fans of iPads, they're not for everyone, and some people aim to actively avoid Apple's ecosystem.

We've tested and reviewed every iPad, and we've reviewed a lot of iPad alternative too, so we're in a good position to compare the options and pick out the best iPad alternatives for different needs. Below, we pick our favourites, including high-end options, tablets with that run desktop software, budget alternatives and even a specialist iPad alternative for drawing, including models from Samsung, Microsoft and more.

If you are still considering an iPad, or want to compare the specs of these against those of Apple tablets, see our full iPad generations list for details of all the current models.

Quick list

The best iPad alternatives in full

The best iPad alternative overall

Microsoft's Surface Pro 9 tops our list as the best iPad alternative, and indeed the best iPad Pro alternative if you go for the Intel i7 version (avoid the SQ3 5G variant unless you really need that connectivity). We found the latest Surface Pro to have a convincingly Apple-like high-end feel, with a stand that feels solid and well-designed.

The best thing about this tablet is that it runs Windows, allowing us to use fully fledged desktop software. And it has to the power for it too. We found that the i7 16GB RAM configuration handled most of what we hit it with, and was easily able to run multiple programs at once, although it did start to stutter under complex 4K video editing in Davinci Pro, but, hey, this is a tablet with integrated graphics.

We liked the PixelSense screen for watching films and photo editing, and the sketching experience was nice with the Surface Slim Pen (sold separately). The the 10MP camera can follow you around a room, much like Apple's Centre Stage feature. Add on the Type Cover keyboard and you effectively have a compact hybrid laptop (just note that like the stylus, the Type Cover is sold separately).

Read our full hands-on Microsoft Surface Pro 9 review for more details.

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The Android iPad Pro alternative

At 14.6-inches, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is larger than the biggest iPad Pro, but it's still slim and portable. When we reviewed it, we found the power and performance to be impressive, making it a compelling option as a tablet for work. Meanwhile, the AMOLED screen technology made for an impressively rich display for watching films or creating digital art.

We appreciate the fact that the S Pen ships in the box, so we don't have to buy a stylus as an extra like with iPads or the Surface Pro. Overall the stylus experience is smooth, if not quite as seamless as that of the Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro. 

Of course, the downside is that you're limited to Android apps. There's no shortage of apps in the Play store but some creatives may miss things like Adobe's iOS apps. Compared with an iPad Pro, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a pretty hefty tablet, and if you're going to carry it around you'll need a sizeable bag, but you do get more screen space to work on.

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The best iPad alternative for drawing

While you can use an iPad for digital painting, and the iPad Pro, in particular, is a great choice, it's not designed specifically for creating art. In steps the Magic Pad, billed as the first dedicated portable drawing tablet. Most drawing tablets can only be used to draw, but the Magic Pad runs Android OS. It can play games, take photos, play music. It's basically XPPen's fantastic drawing tablet tech put into a mobile tablet. 

The 2160 x 1440 resolution, anti-glare etched display is slightly flexible, so it reacts more to your sketching and pen strokes than the rigid screen of an iPad. We particularly liked the XPPen X3 Pro Pencil, which offers 16,000 levels of pen pressure, the same as XPPen's desktop pen displays and more than iPad (Apple keeps its specs secret but we estimate that Apple Pencil 2 provide around 8,000 pressure levels).

In our XPPen Magic Drawing Pad review, we found this to be a joy to sketch on. It is notably less powerful than an iPad Pro, but it's a good deal cheaper (and cheaper even than an iPad Air). Since it runs on Android, you're limited to the best drawing apps for Android, but the are now some great options, such as ArtRage Vitae and ibisPaint X, both of which come pre-installed.

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The best laptop iPad alternative

So this isn't actually a tablet, but we think this 2-in-1 laptop with tablet mode is so light and portable that it qualifies as an iPad alternative. The keyboard flips nicely over on its hinges, allowing us to quickly swap to tablet mode and use the Zenbook Flip just as we would an iPad. It also has a handy 'tent' mode that allows it to free-stand – perfect for streaming.

In our review, we found a lot to love about it. The QHD OLED touchscreen has great colours (100% of the sRGB , 99.9% of DCI P3 and 97.4% of Adobe RGB) and deep blacks, and the 90Hz refresh rate makes for a smooth experience for drawing.

It's also worth noting that the Zenbook Flip pushes 1.5kg, so it's not the lightest iPad alternative to tote around. The lack of a side power button in tablet mode can also be a little annoying. Read our full ASUS Zenbook 14x Flip review for more details.

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Best basic iPad alternative

This offering from Lenovo takes on the standard iPad in terms of cost and performance. It isn't quite as fast as the standard iPad, but it is cheaper, and performance and battery life were sound in our tests.

A panel attaches to the back of the tablet to form a stand, and there's even a little nook for a stylus to slot in neatly, and charge. Bear in mind that this tablet doesn't support LTE, which means you can't connect to the internet without a WiFi connection – a pain if you work a lot on the go. Overall, though, this is a solid tablet at a great price. If you liked the look of the iPad Mini but want something cheaper, it's definitely worth considering. 

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The best budget iPad alternative

Want something light and portable? Another of Microsoft's hybrid laptop-tablets, the Surface Go 3 has is the cheapest in the software giant's range. When we reviewed the Surface Go 3, we found the 10.5-inch screen to be impressively bright for its class, and we liked the size of the device – nifty enough to carry in a tote but solid enough not to feel cheap. 

Performance was a little underwhelming – this is another alternative for the entry-level iPad rather than for the iPad Air or Pro. However, for general productivity, browsing, email and media, it does the job just fine. Note that like with the Surface Pro above, the Surface Pen and Type Cover cost extra, and to get the most our of this device we think you'll need both.

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The best compact iPad alternative

This tablet from Amazon doesn't exactly rival any of the iPads in terms of functionality, but if just need something that enables you to browse the web and stream content, the Fire 7 tablet is a very cheap and cheerful solution. 

You won't be able to run all the apps you're used to, as neither the Google Play Store nor Apple's App Store are supported, but Amazon does have its own alternatives. The camera isn't really up to much, especially compared to Apple's offerings, but again, you get what you pay for, and you're not paying an awful lot for this budget iPad alternative.

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How to choose the best iPad alternatives

When choosing the best iPad alternatives, the first thing to do is to establish what you're going to use it for, as this will determine which features you need. If you're just going to be using the tablet for a light browsing and maybe some streaming, your needs will be different than if you are planning on using the tablet as your main work tool and need to run resource-intensive apps. Once that's established, here are some criteria to consider.

Screen size: The size of a tablets screen is expressed in inches, referring to the diagonal distance between two corners. So, a 14-inch tablet means a tablet with 14 inches between the top left and the bottom right of the screen. A larger screen gives you more space to work with – useful for creative work and great for watching movies. However, it also means the tablet is physically larger and heavier, which impacts portability.

Screen resolution: The higher the screen resolution, the more detail it is able to display and the better your content will look. 

Screen brightness/colour: A higher level of brightness, expressed in nits, will make your screen easier to see in a variety of conditions. Generally 300 nits is acceptable, 400 nits is good and anything above 500 is excellent. You may also see reference to a screen's coverage of various colour gamuts, such as sRGB, DCI P3 and Adobe RGB, etc. The higher the percentage of these spaces, the richer and more accurate colours a screen can display.

Stylus compatibility: If you're planning on drawing or doing other creative work on a tablet, having a compatible active stylus like the Apple Pencil is a must.

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How we test the best iPad alternatives

At Creative Bloq, we regularly review tablets from a range of different manufacturers. We will spend a significant amount of time with any tablet we review, and test it against a series of benchmarks designed to assess how well it performs. 

We run different productivity apps, creative programs, browsers and games on the tablet (where possible) to see how well it is able to cope with such tasks. We look at screen quality, measuring brightness and refresh rate. We try out any compatible accessories available to us such as styluses and stands, and we also look at the physical design of the tablet to assess whether it is convenient to use, easy to carry and robustly constructed.

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FAQs

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