pay extra car to "cable diameter" every winch can use multiple size diameter cables. thicker diameter cable = less length of cable you can put on a winch, and wind it all the way up.
besides cable, there are some that will also accept straps.
different cables have different ratings. high priced small diameter cable with more strength = vs cheaper larger diameter cable with less strength.
cables need to be taken care of, they can get dinged up, and begin to come apart / unravel. some may want to rust up, and/or from just usage get all dusted up and dirty.
check the gearing on winches, some are really big motor no gearing, and some are smaller motor with a lot of gearing to get to desired pull amount.
winches themselves making a hand crank, to a hand crank with 12v motor, to 12v motor, they all look the same to me with standard "mounting" so you can swap out a mount for front of vehicle, to rear of vehicle, to hitch mount, to trailer mount, to tractor mount, to a boat mount, to other. some winch mounts are directly built so you can pull the winch on/off so you can toss it into shed say during week, and then what you go out you can toss winch onto the truck/trailer.
some winches have "brakes" for example you are lifting up a load vertically say on a crane, you do not want the load to come falling down. so there be a brake, same for say a boat winch, you do not want to pull a boat up on a trailer, and then watch the boat slide back into the water.
from what i have seen, most manufactures offer some sort of "wireless remote" package, something like a keychain to lock/unlock vehicle or start vehicle. but for operating winch. honestly trying to deal with 20 plus feet of cable for a remote control can be a bit of a pain. but at least you should be able to stand behind a door of a vehicle or something, so in case cable breaks, it does not chop you in half.
grainger.com, harborfreight.com, northerntool.com check all 3 places, they normally list enough winches to help get an idea of ratings and specifications.
