When comparing XtraFinder vs Notational Velocity, the Slant community recommends Notational Velocity for most people. In the question“What are the best power user tools for macOS?” Notational Velocity is ranked 11th while XtraFinder is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose Notational Velocity is:
The interface is clean and unobtrusive.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free
Pro Old full-size color labels from OS X < 10.9
Pro Adds useful toolbar items
XtraFinder provides useful options for toolbar such as: Launch as Root, New Terminal Here, New File..., and Select...
Pro Additional right-click options
Xtra Finder provides additional options when performing the right click.
Pro Custom hotkeys
Pro Copy Path
Pro Can open a terminal in set position
XtraFinder can open up a terminal from the right-click menu in given path with "New Terminal Here".
Pro Dual panel
Split the Finder window into to windows to achieve better file handling.
Pro Colored icons in the Finder sidebar
Pro Simple and minimalistic
The interface is clean and unobtrusive.
Pro Free
Pro Syncs with SimpleNotes or Dropbox
Cons
Con Doesn't work on recent macOS versions without a workaround
This tool doesn't work on recent macOS versions, except if you try workaraound that may or may not work. It involves disabling System Integrity Protection and details on how to do it can be found on the XtraFinder website.
Con Feels a bit outdated
The last release was from 2011. Although due to its brilliant simplicity in doing what it's designed for, some might think there hasn't been any need for an update, as long as it still works with the newer OSs.