Are budget Jorgensen planes really comparable to Lie-Nielsen or Veritas?

No, and reviewers on r/handtools are explicit about this. The Jorgensen line is described as the best value in new hand planes and clearly better than current production Stanleys at the same price, but multiple community threads note it's still based on early Bedrock-style design with rougher machining than premium brands. The phrase 'great for the price' is doing a lot of work.