XT and XTR are both the same 96 bcd. Black do one too – the new oval ones which look interesting.
I’ve 1×11 XT on one bike and have been running SRAM 1×11 on other bikes for the last year. The XT stuff is really good for the price. With the XT cranks and chainring, it’s very predictable, no issues at all with dropped chains. The chainring has slightly hooked teeth that apparently grab the chain better.
However, whilst the shifters are good, they are nowhere near the quality of the SRAM ones. I’ve got full XT except for the shifter where I went XTR for the sake of an extra £30. They feel a bit more plasticky and not quite as substantial as SRAM. The shift is ok although it does take a bit of getting used to the lighter action required for just one shift, it’s quite easy to push through to several shifts by mistake. I’ve run both shimano and SRAM 2×10 in past, so can see how folk think SRAM stuff is cheap n nasty but the XX1 and XO1 is quality kit imho.
The gear ratios on the shimano 11-42 cassette are really good though, very close together so gear changes are much smoother than on SRAM where sometimes you feel caught between gears.
Given the price difference it’s well worth considering the shimano stuff….if only they made an XTR 11-42 cassette.