Yes, I know that colleges want to see A’s in APs but the reality is, that is quite difficult.
Are APs significantly better honors classes? They are weighted the same in weighted GPA but how do colleges consider those levels?
If you take all AP courses and make a mix of B’s/C’s, then your course selection would count against you. It would be better to take 2-4 APs and make a mix of A’s/B’s (mostly A’s) in your overall schedule. Don’t just take an AP class for a GPA boost. You should take AP Classes if you want to be challenged instead of bored and underwhelmed in a regular class. You would be better off, in the long run, making a B in an AP class than making a 95-100 in regular.
You want to take as many APs and honors classes as you can handle with good grades, so you don’t want your unweighted GPA drop below the 3.5-3.7 range (depending on your intended target schools).
You should only take AP classes that are appropriate for you (in other words, in areas where you can succeed even if doing so requires a fair bit of effort.) Pushing yourself is good. Drowning is bad. Taking a higher level class than you can realistically handle because you think you’re supposed to, or because it’s what “colleges” want, is not going to serve you in the end.