Similar visualization, but totally different products.
I think the most important feature we have is that we remove about 80% of results from listings because they're totally redundant.
We also have draggable time sliders, instant sorting, and multiple searches in tabs, all of which are things we added to make finding flights less tedious.
The draggable time sliders seal the deal for me. Finally I can choose between the for flights that are actually relevant to me and not the 200 that aren't.
Find a way to get Southwest in your output and I'll never use another site.
Matrix feels sluggish and under-responsive while Hipmunk feels crisp and snappy. Even if every other feature were the same, Hipmunk wins for that reason alone.
That's true but you can't really make any statements about that until you know how much traffic each is currently processing. A newcomer always has an initial edge there. But if hipmunk manages to keep their current speed they'll blow matrix right out of the water.
[1]: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/