Fizban:
Yeah, I get a half-hearted "so we leveled, right?" at the end of each session. I usually just scowl and they go away. For me it all depends on where I need them to be for the story. If I want them to have a certain kind of encounter, I get them to the level I need them to be to stand a chance. It's all about story. The players need to feel like they are moving forward, but the real sense of accomplishment isn't in the level they are; it's what the character has accomplished in the game world. If their actions had impact, level isn't as important.
Listen to the New World games - the players accomplish stuff - even when they are low level. That is the real art of the story. At some points Ross just waves his hand and they jump a couple of levels. Because that is what the story needed. And they were all happy, because they had contributed to that story, so it felt natural (at least that is how it comes across on the podcast).
Doctorscraps:
It might put it on fast forward, but really, you guide the story, so level them as fast as you need to. You know your group better than anyone, and you know your story - make them fit however you need to. In all of the roleplaying guides I have read, they always say the first rule is have fun. If having them not level is not fun, don't do it. If having them level would be not fun, wait.
I played in one game (AD&D... decades ago...) where we got about 5xp a session. You needed a lot to level back then... we played for over a year without leveling, but it was still fun. The best games are the ones where I had fun playing, not drafting a higher level character.