When comparing Bartender vs Growl, the Slant community recommends Bartender for most people. In the question“What are the best power user tools for macOS?” Bartender is ranked 13th while Growl is ranked 15th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Cleans up the menubar so it's less cluttered
Pro Great customisation options for the menu bar
Pro Lean and efficient
Does what it is supposed to do efficiently.
Pro Support for a lot more applications than the default notification system
In addition to all the applications that other people have written that support Growl, Growl includes several 'Extras' that serve various functions.
Pro Ability to be themed
Growl comes with almost 20 themes pre-installed so you can pick what works best for you. You can also create and install your own custom themes.
Pro Sync with mobile phone via Prowl
Prowl is the Growl client for iOS. Push to your iOS device notifications from your Mac or Windows computer, or from a multitude of apps and services.
Cons
Con Expensive
$15 for download or $7.50 for upgrade if you have Bartender 1.