// Start one step earlier

Before comparing brands, answer what you actually need: hiding browsing from your ISP and public networks → a commercial VPN or a $5 self-hosted tunnel. Geo-unblocking only → Smart DNS or the provider's streaming page, don't overpay. Anonymity → Tor, not a VPN. Nothing above → maybe nothing at all; HTTPS already encrypts your content.

// Then, in order

1. Logging evidence - audited or court-proven beats any promise.
2. Ownership - check who owns the brand; conglomerates own most famous names.
3. Renewal price - the 3-year total, not the teaser (calculator).
4. Jurisdiction & warrants - evidence over flags; check the incident record.
5. Your country - if you travel into censorship, obfuscation matters more than server count (country pages).
6. Payment - need real anonymity? Monero/crypto + no-account signup.