When comparing QTTabBar vs Explorer++, the Slant community recommends QTTabBar for most people. In the question“What are the best file managers for Windows?” QTTabBar is ranked 14th while Explorer++ is ranked 18th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Middle click/Ctrl+click to open new tab
Pro Allows you to simply add tabs to File Explorer which suit the design
Pro Plugin support
The program can be enhanced further by plugins for a variety of purposes.
Pro Good drag and drop options
Pro Preview popup buttons
Pro Ctrl+arrow keys for navigation between different tabs
Pro Ctrl+tab to go from tab to tab
Pro Free and open source
Pro Optimized with fast loading speed
Compare to other file explorer I have used its have really fast loading speed.
Pro Tab system
Pro Active development
Active community development as of 2021.
Cons
Con Options menu almost unusable on some high resolution displays
Options menu almost unusable on some high resolution displays, for example Surface Pro 4 2736X1824 and 225% magnification (scaling issues). Interestingly, works ok on external display 3840X2160 with 150% magnification.
Con Possibly abandoned project
Not updated since 2019-3-24. No response from developer. Is the project dead?
Con Useless for searching
Often completely misses loads of files that you know are there.
Con Limited search functionality
No file content search.
Con Folder view settings does not save individually
want to just set download folder item to group by date? nope! every folder applies this view settings.
Con Abandoned
Seemingly abandoned. Hasn't been updated in a few years.
Con Crashes semi frequently
Crashes quite a bit. Sometimes random sometimes during network folder access. Loses current state and reverts to the state of the last graceful exit.