In 2026, companies with 50-500 employees lose, on average, R$18,000 per year by choosing the wrong mobile operator. This isn’t a random number; it’s a conservative calculation based on the hidden costs that 90% of CFOs and IT Managers overlook when comparing Vivo Empresas, Claro Empresas, and TIM.
Most companies make a critical mistake: they choose their carrier based on “brand perception” (e.g., “Vivo has the biggest network,” “Claro has the fastest 5G,” or “TIM is the cheapest”). This simplistic view ignores the technical realities of corporate telecom contracts—realities that operators are not incentivized to explain. The real financial damage isn’t in the monthly fee; it’s in the exclusions. It’s in the paid national roaming, the limited “unlimited” apps, and the 24-month lock-in contracts that prevent optimization.
As an independent 360° telecom consultancy, Grupo OC does not work for the carriers; we work for you. Our job is to run a data-driven benchmark. This definitive guide provides the technical, unbiased comparison that operators won’t show you, revealing the critical differences in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and ROI.
The 2026 Carrier Showdown: The “Featured Snippet” Comparison
This is the high-level summary. The differences in “apps” and “roaming” are not minor details; they are the primary drivers of hidden costs.
| Strategic Criteria | Vivo Empresas | Claro Empresas | TIM Empresas (Managed by Grupo OC) |
| “Unlimited” Apps | WhatsApp, Waze, Teams (Limited) | WhatsApp, Waze, Teams (Limited) | ✅ Full WhatsApp (Video/Voice), Instagram, Facebook, Waze, X, Messenger |
| National Roaming | ❌ Paid (Daily fee: R$10-R$15) | ❌ Paid (Daily fee: R$8-R$12) | ✅ 100% Free & Unlimited |
| Contract Lock-in | 12-24 months (Mandatory) | 12-24 months (Mandatory) | ✅ 12-Month or 0-Month Options (Flexible) |
| 5G Coverage | Strong (450 cities, focus rural 4G) | Good (380 cities, focus urban 5G+) | ✅ Leader (750+ cities, national 5G) |
| Typical 50GB Plan | ~R$89/line (Base price) | ~R$82/line (Requires combo) | ~R$79/line (Plus 15-30% volume discount) |
| Primary Advantage | 4G/Rural Coverage, Enterprise Ecosystem | Combo Discounts, 5G+ Peak Speed | Best TCO, Flexibility, Roaming Savings |
(Source: Grupo OC 2025 analysis + public carrier data. Prices are estimates and vary by region and volume.)
The table shows a clear technical winner. TIM’s offering is structurally designed to eliminate the two most common extra charges that plague corporate invoices: roaming fees and data overages from social media use (now critical for sales teams).
Vivo Empresas: When Is It (and Isn’t It) the Best Choice?
Vivo is the market leader by brand perception and has the largest national mobile coverage if you include 3G/4G. This is their strength and their weakness.
Advantages of Vivo Empresas 2026
- ✅ Superior Rural/Highway 4G Coverage: This is Vivo’s undisputed champion feature. For companies in agribusiness, logistics, or manufacturing with plants in remote areas, Vivo’s 4G/LTE stability is often the most reliable.
- ✅ Complete B2B Ecosystem: Vivo offers a robust portfolio beyond mobile, including Vivo Fibra, Cloud, Cybersecurity, and IoT solutions, allowing large enterprises to consolidate services.
- ✅ Brand Stability: CFOs and boards often feel “safe” choosing the largest incumbent, which has value in terms of perceived reliability.
Disadvantages (The Hidden Costs Venders Hide)
- ❌ Paid National Roaming: This is the biggest financial trap. A single salesperson traveling 10 days a month can add R$150/month (R$1,800/year) to your bill for that one line. For a team of 10, that’s an R$18,000 hidden cost.
- ❌ Limited “Unlimited” Apps: Vivo’s plans typically exclude social media apps like Instagram or Facebook, and often cap voice/video calls on WhatsApp.
- ❌ Premium Price: You pay a 15-22% premium for the Vivo brand, even if a competitor (like TIM) has better 5G coverage in your specific area.
- ❌ Rigid Contracts: 24-month lock-in is standard, offering zero flexibility for scaling down or optimizing.
Our Verdict: Who Should Use Vivo?
Vivo is the right choice only if your operation is 1) primarily in deep rural areas with no 5G and 2) you are already a large Vivo corporate client using their fixed-line or cloud services and can leverage a massive (30%+) discount.
Claro Empresas: The “Combo” Strategy (And Its Traps)
Claro’s strategy is “convergence.” They leverage their massive fixed-line infrastructure (legacy NET) to offer aggressive discounts… if you buy everything from them.
Advantages of Claro Empresas 2026
- ✅ The “Combo Multi” Price: If your company also needs fixed internet (Claro Fibra) and TV, the bundle discount can make the total package look cheaper.
- ✅ Industry 4.0 Leadership (Private 5G): Claro has strong enterprise-level case studies (e.g., with Gerdau, Nestlé) for private 5G networks and complex IoT.
- ✅ MPLS/Datacenter Legacy: Through Embratel, Claro has a robust legacy infrastructure for complex MPLS and datacenter solutions.
Disadvantages (The “All-or-Nothing” Problem)
- ❌ The Combo is a Leash: The discount is the trap. You become dependent on Claro for all services. If their fixed internet fails, you can’t switch providers without your mobile bill increasing 25-35% overnight.
- ❌ Paid National Roaming: Like Vivo, Claro charges for roaming via its “Passaporte” packages, adding unpredictable costs for traveling teams.
- ❌ Complex Legacy: The Claro Pós Empresarial portfolio, merged with Embratel, can be complex to navigate.
Our Verdict: Who Should Use Claro?
Claro is a strong contender for Industry 4.0 projects (private 5G) or large corporations needing legacy MPLS. For the average PME (50-500 employees), the combo-dependency and paid roaming make it less flexible and more expensive than TIM.
TIM Empresas: The “Secret” of the Best Cost-Benefit (TCO) in 2026
TIM has strategically positioned itself as the best-value provider for modern, mobile-first companies. They win on the technical details that directly impact your invoice.
Why TIM Leads in Real-World TCO
- ✅ Roaming Nacional 100% Gratuito: This is a massive, direct, and predictable saving. It alone can justify the migration, saving an average of R$18,000/year for a 10-person sales team.
- ✅ The Most Complete “Unlimited Apps” Package: TIM is the only carrier that includes Instagram and Facebook in its standard package. Why does this matter? Your sales team uses Instagram for prospecting. Your marketing team manages Facebook pages. This is real work, and TIM doesn’t penalize you for it.
- ✅ No-Lock-In Flexibility: TIM is the only operator offering optional 0-month lock-in contracts. This gives your company unprecedented flexibility to scale up or down without penalty—a huge advantage for growing businesses.
- ✅ Aggressive 5G Coverage: With 750+ cities covered, TIM’s 5G network is 1.6x larger than Vivo’s, offering better service outside of just the capital cities.
- ✅ Lower Price Point: Even before benefits, TIM’s base price per line is 15-25% lower than the equivalent Vivo plan.
Real Case Study (800 Employees): R$237,600/Year Saved by Migrating from Vivo
- Situation: A manufacturing client with 800 lines was 100% on Vivo Empresas, paying R$2,700/month in roaming fees alone.
- Grupo OC Audit: We identified that 60% of their lines (480 employees) had very low data usage (<2GB/month) but were in expensive plans.
- Hybrid Solution: We migrated the 60% low-use lines to a TIM Black Empresa plan (which was 40% cheaper andhad free roaming) and kept the 40% high-use lines on Vivo (which had slightly better coverage at their specific factory).
- Result: The client’s total telecom bill dropped by R$19,800 per month.
- Total Annual Savings: R$237,600.
A “Partner Autorizado Vivo” would never have proposed this, as it would mean losing 60% of their commission. An independent consultant (Grupo OC) does.
See all TIM Empresa plans—including Black, Controle, and benefits—at planotimempresa.com.br
Grupo OC Methodology: How to Choose Between Vivo, Claro, and TIM (No Bias)
As a neutral 360° consultancy, our process is data-driven. We don’t have a “favorite” operator; we have a favorite outcome: your lowest possible TCO.
Phase 1: Real-Use Audit (Not Operator Propaganda)
We don’t listen to sales pitches. We analyze your last 3-6 months of invoices (Call Detail Record – CDR). We map your actual usage:
- Profiles: Who is the “External” user (needs roaming)? Who is the “Internal” (needs data)? Who is “Hybrid”?
- Waste: Are you paying for 50GB plans for employees who only use 8GB?
- Hidden Costs: How much did you really pay in roaming and data overages?
Phase 2: Technical Benchmark (Localized Coverage Test)
We don’t trust marketing maps. We perform on-site coverage tests at your critical addresses (your HQ in Sorocaba, your factory in Itu, your main client in Campinas). We test the real 4G/5G signal from Vivo, Claro, and TIM in the locations you use.
Phase 3: TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) Calculation
We build a 24-month TCO calculator, like the simplified one below, to show the real cost.
| TCO Item (Example: 100 lines, 50GB, 30 external staff) | Vivo Empresas | Claro Empresas | TIM Empresas |
| Monthly Fee (100 lines) | R$ 8,900/mo | R$ 8,200/mo | R$ 7,900/mo |
| Hidden Roaming Cost (30 staff) | +R$ 1,500/mo (30×5 daysxR$10) | +R$ 1,080/mo (30×5 daysxR$8) | R$ 0 (Free) |
| Data Overage (Social Media) | +R$ 400/mo (est.) | +R$ 400/mo (est.) | R$ 0 (Free) |
| Total Monthly Cost | R$ 10,800 | R$ 9,680 | R$ 7,900 |
| TCO (24 Months) | R$ 259,200 | R$ 232,320 | *R$ 189,600* |
| Savings vs. Vivo | – | R$ 26,880 | R$ 69,600 (27%) |
Request a personalized TCO calculation comparing Vivo, Claro, and TIM for your company.
Final Verdict: Which Operator for Which Company?
Choose Vivo Empresas IF:
- You are a large enterprise (>1,000 employees) already deep in the Vivo ecosystem (Cloud/Fixed).
- Your operation is critically dependent on 4G in deep rural areas (agribusiness, remote mining).
Choose Claro Empresas IF:
- You are a large enterprise needing complex legacy MPLS/Datacenter solutions (from their Embratel side).
- You are a PME that also needs TV por Assinatura and can get a massive (but inflexible) Combo discount.
Choose TIM Empresas IF (Applies to 90% of PMEs):
- ✅ You have any employee who travels to other states (Roaming Grátis = massive savings).
- ✅ You want the best TCO and lowest predictable monthly bill.
- ✅ You want contractual flexibility (0-month lock-in).
- ✅ Your sales/marketing teams use social media (Apps Ilimitados).
- ✅ You want the largest national 5G coverage for future-proofing.
Conclusion: Don’t Choose an Operator, Choose an Auditor
The choice between Vivo Empresas, Claro Empresas, and TIM in 2026 is clear: TIM offers the best package of benefits and flexibility for the lowest TCO.
However, the real R$18,000+ savings don’t come from just picking TIM. They come from having a consultant like Grupo OC audit your usage, build the perfect mix of plans (e.g., 40% TIM Black, 60% TIM Controle), negotiate the 15-30% volume discount, and manage the entire migration process with zero downtime.