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Is Southwest often that much cheaper? I usually only fly them because they're direct where others are not, but it usually doesn't save me money.

I guess our mileage literally does vary, but I almost always find Southwest to be among the cheapest options for short domestic flights.

Or just do it like Ryanair and always use two doors. With a 737 and two doors in use, any aircraft is boarded in less than 5 min.

Any time I fly I try to get the lowest possible fare by using priceline/kayak/whatever. Southwest never comes up among the lowest prices.

Southwest only sells tickets directly (another way they keep fares low) and they don't share flight data with Kayak/Priceline/etc..

If Southwest covers your route, their fares are almost always going to be competitive with the lowest price. Where Southwest is not good is when you have longer flights (cross country) which will almost always entail stops and or changing planes. But it is great for short stuff like flying between OAK/LAX/SFO/PHX/LAS.