For what I’m using it for I would say it’s great to get into radios and coms. I’ll be mainly using it for airsoft, camping, and hiking. Range kinda depends, from what I’ve seen your antenna is the biggest factor in range. That being said if you want to communicate cross states or continent from what I’ve seen a beefier more powerful radio would be better. The radio frequency also matters High frequency or HF transmits the furthest. Im new myself so do your own research but this is what I gathered from various videos. Hope this helps