The best monitors for graphic artists and graphic designers can make a big difference to the experience of working with visual art and design, and can have an impact on the results since solid colour accuracy and image quality can ensure you see you work as it really looks.
We've tested and reviewed a wide range of monitors using both benchmark tests for colour coverage and accuracy as well as practical hands-on testing, including using them with the best digital art software and graphic design software. We've picked out those that the performance and supporting features to make them suitable for graphic designers and artists with different needs.
Below, we evaluate the pros and cons of each, picking options for difference price points, from budget to professional displays. For more gear for your setup, also see our guide to the best laptops for graphic design.
Quick list
We'll begin with a quick overview of our top picks. Scroll down for more our full evaluation of each option.
We think this super-cheap 27-inch display is practically a steal. You sacrifice 4K resolution and the brightness and colour gamut are hardly spectacular, but the price is incredible. Read more below
This premium screen provides top-tier performance, excellent contrast and colour coverage, solid connectivity, and an included calibration tool. Read more below
Offering 40 inches of exquisite screen space with solid color accuracy and great connectivity, this is a brilliant screen for artists and designers that want more space to work with. Read more below
If you're in the Apple ecosystem, and have the budget, this Apple Pro Display XDR remains an excellent choice for art and design work with incredible HDR peak brightness, superb colour reproduction and quality features. Read more below
A portable external monitor can be handy for working on the move, and this OLED display takes the concept up a level with solid brightness and colour coverage for visual art and design. Read more below
The best monitors for graphic artists in full
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We think the BenQ PD3220U is a great-value package for graphics artists and designers. In our review, we discovered a rich feature set, superb image quality and broad color representation. 4K on a 32-inch screen is the sweet spot in terms of resolution, and we found colour coverage to surpass the stated specs in our own test, providing 98% DCI-P3 as well as 100% of sRGB and 100% Rec.709.
We found the preset color modes to be accurate and east to use. We liked the connectivity options available, including two Thunderbolt 3 ports. These can allow you to daisy-chain another monitor, and one of them delivers 85W of power, so you can charge your laptop off it too, reducing the need for so many cables on your desk. Other handy features that could simply some creatives' workflows include picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes, allowing you to display visuals from two inputs.
You can read our full breakdown and thoughts on the screen in our BenQ PD3220U review.
If you're not yet working in graphic art or design professionally, you might not be ready to splash out on a high-resolution display with pro specs. If you want a screen to get started with, we think the Acer Vero RL272 is best budget monitor for graphic design, and the cheapest monitor for art that we can recommend.
FHD resolution has its limits, but it's not as much of an issue for static art as it is for video. We found that brightness and colour coverage weren't exactly anything to write home about either, but they're good enough for non professional use, providing 200 nits and 99% of sRGB coverage. But it's hard to stress how good value this monitor is. At little over $200, it's a sensible buy if you're starting out.
A premium monitor for professional graphic artists
Our expert review:
Specifications
Screen size: 31.5in
Resolution: 3840x2160
Color space coverage: 100% sRGB, 80% rec. 2020, 99% DCI-P3
Connections: 3x HDMI (v2.0), 1x DisplayPort (v1.4), 1s USB-C (DP Alt mode, 65W power delivery), 4x USB-A
Brightness (max): 500 nits
Reasons to buy
+
Accurate presets for all color formats
+
Class-leading color and contrast
+
Auto-calibration feature
Reasons to avoid
-
Only a 60Hz refresh rate
-
Costs the same as several of the others on the list combined
If you're a professional graphic artist looking to upgrade your setup with a premium screen, this is one of the best we've ever tested. The Asus ProArt OLED PA32DC is 4K-plus 32-inch display that shines when it comes to colour accuracy – and it comes with an auto-calibration feature to make it easier to regularly calibrate in order to maintain that accuracy.
It comes with a monitor hood to help reduce reflections and glare, and plenty of ports for peripherals. Technical and capability grumbles are very minor, and the refresh rate is a pedestrian 60Hz, but this gaming is designed for work not gaming. Aside from that the only problem is the price. We think this is a monitor to jump on if you see a good deal.
The best ultrawide monitor for graphic artists
(Image credit: Dell)
04. Dell UltraSharp U4021QW
Excellent specs and more screen space to work with
Our expert review:
Specifications
Size: 39.7in
Resolution: 5120 x 2160 (5K2K)
Color space coverage: 100% sRGB, 100% Rec. 709, 98% DCI-P3
Good range of ports and features for multi-taskers
Reasons to avoid
-
Curve might make work look skewed
If you work across multiple programs or panels or you like to be able to compare your work side by side, the extra space provide by an ultrawide can be a huge benefit. We found this 4K option from Dell to have the specs for for creative work, boasting 100% sRGB, 100% Rec. 709 and 98% DCI-P3 color coverage. It has plenty of ports too, including Thunderbolt 3.
Just note that some creatives feel that a curved screen can distort the appearance of their work. It's a subjective thing, but you might want to test the experience to check how it work for you.
Those looking to keep everything within the Apple family should look at the Apple Pro Display XDR screen. It's an investment, but we found it to be a stunning monitor for graphic design. In terms of specs, the numbers are impressive: 6K resolution (6016 x 3384) HDR peak brightness of 1,600 nits (typically this is 'only' 1,000) and near 600 dimming zones.
In practice? We found brightness and contrast to be simply superb. We also appreciated the specific modes for DCI P3, sRGB, NTSC, BT.709, to name but a few, and found it to be a perfect companion for a MacBook Pro ensuring that work will look the same if you have the two side by side.
Its Thunderbolt 3 port ensures it can be hooked up easily in a Thunderbolt chain, and there are a bunch of USB-C ports for accessories too. Its price tag bites hard, and the fact that the official stand will cost you a chunk extra does sting, but the screen itself is hard to fault.
If you're keen to stay in the Apple ecosystem but can't stretch to the Apple Pro Display XDR, see our Apple Studio Display review for a full breakdown of its cheaper sibling.
Most portable monitors make decent productivity devices but aren't so hot for creative work. This is a very welcome exception. ASUS claims 95.5% of sRGB, and we got 100% in our tests, as well as 96% of Adobe RGB and 98% of P3 and Delta E < 2 colour accuracy.
We didn't manage to get the 400 nits of brightness that Asus claims using USB-C (the alternative is to use mini HDMI), but the OLED screen was still very bright for a portable monitor and able to overpower most reflections in the office at 80% brightness. With a dongle, it’s possible to use this port to connect game consoles, a Raspberry Pi, or even a streaming stick, and the 60Hz refresh rate gives a smooth picture. We found it to be a flexible device that's equally suitable for graphic art and design as writing or coding.
Of course, a portable 16-inch OLED display is a niche device. It only makes sense if you regularly work on the move, for example in cafes, hotel rooms, co-working spaces or clients' offices. For situations like that, the option to slip something into a bag and connect to a laptop using just one cable comes into its own.
How to choose the best monitor for graphic artists
There are several things to consider and look out for when you're choosing a monitor for graphic design or art. One of the most important is to decide what size monitor you want. A larger monitor means that you can see your work at a larger size, and it can also make it easier to see all of your work if you have lots of layers or to navigate multiple windows, which is handy if you're jumping between different programs or if you're checking an image against a reference. However, a larger screen takes up more space.
One of the most important factors in a monitor for visual art and design is colour coverage and accuracy. There are no minimum requirements that you should look for, but if you're producing work for digital uses, you'll want the highest sRGB colour space coverage, ideally 100%, and good coverage for other colour spaces such as Adobe RGB may also be preferable depending on your workflow.
How we tested the best monitors for graphic artists
We have chosen the best monitors for graphic artists based on our writers' experiences when carrying our our own hands-on tests and reviews. We have also taken on board recommendations and feedback from working artists and customer reviews.
When reviewing monitors, we conduct benchmark tests to check brightness and contrast levels, colour coverage, accuracy and uniformity. We also use the monitors over several days in real-life use cases, including for creating graphic design and digital art in programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop and CorelDRAW. As well as the quality of the display itself, we also evaluate build, ergonomics, connectivity and price. We then seek to identify the best monitor for different needs and budgets.
What is the best monitor for graphic artists and designers?
We think the best monitor for graphic artists is the BenQ PD3220U. It takes our top spot as an exceptional all-around package that meets the needs of most graphic artists and designers, with solid colour coverage and overall image quality, generous screen space and good connectivity for a very reasonable price.
However, each of our picks for the best monitor for graphic designers here has its merits and will perform very highly in many circumstances depending on what you're looking for. What suits one graphic artist perfectly may not be the ideal choice for another. The best monitor for you will depend on the kind of work you do, how you like to work, and on your budget, which is why we've included a range of options.
Do you need a 4K monitor for graphic art and design?
The best monitor for graphic artists or designers doesn't have to be 4K since resolution isn't as important for static design as it is for video. That said, your work will look better up close since details will be clearer, so 4K is generally worth the extra outlay if you have the budget.
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Gaming; Tech, hardware and games writer
Rob is the Deputy Editor at TechRadar Gaming, and a writer on games, gaming hardware, and tech, and also gardens and landscapes. He has been in the gaming and tech media industry for more than six years with bylines at the likes of Eurogamer, PCGamer, RockPaperShotgun, GamesRadar+, and more. Previously to being at TechRadar Gaming, he had a short but successful stint as Games Editor at WePC, and prior to that spent more than four years at GamesRadar+, building its hardware team up from scratch to great success. Elsewhere, he is merging his passion and expertise in both gardens and landscapes and video games by crowdfunding a book on video game landscapes that you can back and pre-order now.
