App rankings on AppsInsight are built from the AppsInsight Score combined with per-category editorial ordering. Category ranking tables, tier labels, and “Top N%” badges all derive from the same published scoring engine — payment and advertising never affect position.
From score to ranking
Each app category ranks its apps in one of two modes. In score mode, apps are ordered strictly by their current AppsInsight Score. In editorial mode (the default for categories with completed editorial reviews), our editors order the top picks based on their full evaluation — the same criteria that produce the 30 editorial points — with the score as the underlying evidence base. Either way, the inputs are the published rules; there is no third, hidden mode.
Tiers
Every scored app carries a tier label derived from fixed score bands: Exceptional (90+), Excellent (80–89), Very Good (70–79), Good (60–69), Average (50–59), and Needs Improvement (below 50). Tier boundaries are fixed — they do not curve, and they do not change per category.
“Top N%” percentiles
The “Top N%” badge on an app profile is computed from the real distribution of all non-provisional scores in the directory, refreshed during the weekly scoring pass. It is a directory-wide percentile, not a per-category one, and apps with tied scores share the same percentile.
Weekly movement
After each weekly scoring pass, we snapshot every category’s ranking. The movement arrows next to ranks show change since the previous snapshot, and the “Biggest Climber” badge marks the app that gained the most positions in its category that week. Movement reflects score changes only — new reviews, editorial updates, profile improvements, or decay from staleness.
What never affects rankings
- Advertising spend or referral/affiliate relationships.
- Whether a vendor has claimed their listing or contacted us.
- Threats of legal action or demands to remove reviews.
If we ever run paid placements, they are labeled as such and live outside the ranked results. The full revenue disclosure is in How We Make Money.