I've only used CMC and Interactive Brokers, so I can't comment on the others. But it depends on what you mean by "is it good?" Due to the excessive brokerage costs, I personally consider places like Commsec or NAB to be very bad. Commsec also charges extra for conditional orders whereas CMC provide it for free. However, if you only place 10 trades a year and hold forever, then it doesn't really matter.
Read the fine print of each broker before you sign. Some things to consider:
- Where is your cash held when not invested? (i.e. if the broker goes under, is your money safe?)
- What interest do you get on cash and does this actually matter to you?
- When you purchase shares, are they actually purchased in your name? So if the broker goes under it makes no difference to you. (As opposed to a buying a CFD where you don't actually own anything)
- What trading options do they provide? Conditional orders, margin lending, options trading, futures etc. What do you actually need from your broker?
- Cost of trading (commissions, data fees, conditional order fees)
- Some people like NAB or Commsec because they have an account with the bank and it's very easy to transfer money in and out. Does this matter to you?
- Fine print. Read the fine print. e.g. If you have no cash and sell a stock, when can you use the proceeds from that sale to make another buy?
I'm making it sound harder than it really is. In my opinion they all pretty much do the same job. As long as my cash is in a bank account in my name, my trades are executed at the price I expected and my shares are held in my name then I'll go for the cheapest option. But if you really like Commsec, decide how much it's worth to you. If the benefits outweigh the cost in your opinion then go for it.
If you don't have a proven trading strategy you'll probably lose all your money either way so it hardly matters.