A bike brake does not have very high mechanical load demands - the rear one only needs to generate enough braking force to lock the wheel, and the front to throw you over the bars. The three factors that will make brakes “bad” are cable adjustment, pad state/quality, and rim surface, in that order.
First, make sure your wheels are straight - out-of-true wheels will prevent you from adjusting the brake pads close to the rim, and thus severely limit the max braking power.
Second, change the pads. Most cheaper brakes have hard and slippery pads. Get new ones, don’t go cheap.
Third, adjust the pads as close to the rims as possible, without rub. You should be unable to bottom out the brake levers; with the bike stopped, you should be able to squeeze as hard as you possibly can, still have room to go on the levers, and feel the cables tightly stretching in the lever. Also check the lever reach adjust; most Sora levers have a screw to adjust how far/close the levers are to the bars, and this can affect the lever travel available. Run the levers as far from the bars as you can confortably allow, to give as much lever travel as possible.
Last, check the state of the rim braking tracks. This is less often an issue, but is the place to look for uneven braking forces.
The higher-cost brake calipers are lighter and stiffer; but nothing should prevent a cheaper brake from working correctly - except the above.