diff --git a/src/shell-app-system.c b/src/shell-app-system.c
index 51821d822..e9de0db6a 100644
--- a/src/shell-app-system.c
+++ b/src/shell-app-system.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include "config.h"
 
 #include "shell-app-system.h"
+#include "shell-app-usage.h"
 #include <string.h>
 
 #include <gio/gio.h>
@@ -670,14 +671,16 @@ shell_app_system_get_running (ShellAppSystem *self)
 
 
 static gint
-compare_apps_by_name (gconstpointer a,
-                      gconstpointer b,
-                      gpointer      data)
+compare_apps_by_usage (gconstpointer a,
+                       gconstpointer b,
+                       gpointer      data)
 {
+  ShellAppUsage *usage = shell_app_usage_get_default ();
+
   ShellApp *app_a = (ShellApp*)a;
   ShellApp *app_b = (ShellApp*)b;
 
-  return shell_app_compare_by_name (app_a, app_b);
+  return shell_app_usage_compare (usage, "", app_a, app_b);
 }
 
 static GSList *
@@ -688,16 +691,16 @@ sort_and_concat_results (ShellAppSystem *system,
                          GSList         *substring_matches)
 {
   multiple_prefix_matches = g_slist_sort_with_data (multiple_prefix_matches,
-                                                    compare_apps_by_name,
+                                                    compare_apps_by_usage,
                                                     system);
   prefix_matches = g_slist_sort_with_data (prefix_matches,
-                                           compare_apps_by_name,
+                                           compare_apps_by_usage,
                                            system);
   multiple_substring_matches = g_slist_sort_with_data (multiple_substring_matches,
-                                                       compare_apps_by_name,
+                                                       compare_apps_by_usage,
                                                        system);
   substring_matches = g_slist_sort_with_data (substring_matches,
-                                              compare_apps_by_name,
+                                              compare_apps_by_usage,
                                               system);
   return g_slist_concat (multiple_prefix_matches, g_slist_concat (prefix_matches, g_slist_concat (multiple_substring_matches, substring_matches)));
 }
diff --git a/src/shell-app-usage.c b/src/shell-app-usage.c
index 7b7fe96e8..bbc4fac23 100644
--- a/src/shell-app-usage.c
+++ b/src/shell-app-usage.c
@@ -528,6 +528,45 @@ shell_app_usage_get_most_used (ShellAppUsage   *self,
   return apps;
 }
 
+
+/**
+ * shell_app_usage_compare:
+ * @self: the usage instance to request
+ * @context: Activity identifier
+ * @app_a: First app
+ * @app_b: Second app
+ *
+ * Compare @app_a and @app_b based on frequency of use.
+ *
+ * Returns: -1 if @app_a ranks higher than @app_b, 1 if @app_b ranks higher
+ *          than @app_a, and 0 if both rank equally.
+ */
+int
+shell_app_usage_compare (ShellAppUsage *self,
+                         const char    *context,
+                         ShellApp      *app_a,
+                         ShellApp      *app_b)
+{
+  GHashTable *usages;
+  UsageData *usage_a, *usage_b;
+
+  usages = g_hash_table_lookup (self->app_usages_for_context, context);
+  if (usages == NULL)
+    return 0;
+
+  usage_a = g_hash_table_lookup (usages, shell_app_get_id (app_a));
+  usage_b = g_hash_table_lookup (usages, shell_app_get_id (app_b));
+
+  if (usage_a == NULL && usage_b == NULL)
+    return 0;
+  else if (usage_a == NULL)
+    return 1;
+  else if (usage_b == NULL)
+    return -1;
+
+  return usage_b->score - usage_a->score;
+}
+
 static void
 ensure_queued_save (ShellAppUsage *self)
 {
diff --git a/src/shell-app-usage.h b/src/shell-app-usage.h
index 1070077cf..aacd364b6 100644
--- a/src/shell-app-usage.h
+++ b/src/shell-app-usage.h
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ ShellAppUsage* shell_app_usage_get_default(void);
 GSList *shell_app_usage_get_most_used (ShellAppUsage *usage,
                                        const char    *context,
                                        gint           max_count);
+int shell_app_usage_compare (ShellAppUsage *self,
+                             const char    *context,
+                             ShellApp      *app_a,
+                             ShellApp      *app_b);
 
 G_END_DECLS