Synergy Homeopathic vs Similia 2026 — Honest Comparison

If you're comparing Synergy Homeopathic (Synergy Viva or Synergy SHS) with Similia in 2026, the short version: Synergy Homeopathic is a long-running desktop repertory and materia medica application from Synergy Homeopathic Inc. (formerly SHS, Viva Software), now available as Synergy Viva following the end-of-life of legacy MacRepertory and ReferenceWorks. Similia is a cloud-native platform with a free forever tier, 7 classical + 7 premium repertories, AI semantic search, and the full AI toolkit on Pro. The right choice depends on whether you want a desktop install anchored by a known workflow, or an AI-assisted browser platform that syncs across devices and scales month by month.

Disclosure: I'm the founder of Similia. I've tried to be even-handed below — corrections welcome by email.

TL;DR — Synergy Homeopathic vs Similia at a glance

Synergy Homeopathic (marketed under the Synergy Viva brand as of April 2025) is a Windows/Mac desktop application published by Synergy Homeopathic Inc., with optional AI add-ons (marketed as "Genie" features). Similia is web-based (no install), with a free forever tier and four Pro plans, built around AI semantic search, cross-device case management, and AI consultation tools.

What is Synergy Homeopathic?

Synergy Homeopathic (now branded Synergy Viva) is published by Synergy Homeopathic Inc., the company behind MacRepertory and ReferenceWorks — two long-running homeopathy desktop applications that ended active development as of April 30, 2025. Per the vendor's own website, Synergy Viva launched in April 2025 as the successor to those legacy applications, built as a native Windows/Mac program with optional AI-powered features marketed under names like "Genie."

Synergy lists some Viva prices on its own shop: existing SHS owners can take the Viva core program at no extra charge, and optional add-ons are published (Genie $500; Note Sync $350; Deep View $300; Rep Maker $100; Smart Reader $50; all five bundled $1,100) on synergyhomeopathic.com. Edition packages (Essential, Foundation, Professional, Visionary) still need a current quote from the vendor. The platform is the official migration path for MacRepertory and ReferenceWorks users who want to stay in the Synergy ecosystem. Synergy Viva is a desktop application requiring installation and per-machine licensing, similar to its legacy predecessors.

For context on the MacRepertory end-of-life and why practitioners are switching, see our MacRepertory alternative guide.

What is Similia?

Similia is a modern, cloud-native homeopathy platform with a free forever tier and four Pro editions. It runs in any modern browser on desktop, tablet, or phone. The free tier ships seven classical repertories (Kent, Boericke, Boenninghausen's Therapeutic Pocketbook, Hering's Guiding Symptoms, Boger's Synoptic Key, Ward's and Roberts' Sensations As If), 13 classic materia medica books (Kent, Boericke, Clarke, Allen's Keynotes, Hering, Nash, Boger, Lippe, Paterson and more), AI-powered semantic search, and basic case management capped at 3 new cases and 3 analyses per month.

Every Pro tier (Base, Murphy, Complete, Saine) unlocks the full AI suite (Notes-to-Rubric extraction, AI Case Analysis, live audio consultation transcription, AI Photo Analysis), Jan Scholten's full materia medica series (Elements, Lanthanides, Minerals, Mosses, Ferns, Qjure, Wonderful Plants — 7 modern MM books), Materia Medica Search, the Periodic Table, and unlimited cases. Up to seven premium repertories are available across the Pro ecosystem — pick the matching edition for Murphy's MetaRepertory (Pro Murphy), Complete Repertory 2026 (Pro Complete), or Saine Repertory 2025 (Pro Saine). Add Suggesta 2.1, Qrep5, Mangialavori 100 MM and other extensions as one-time add-ons.

Pricing is published on the Similia pricing page: Free, Pro Base $19.99/mo, Pro Murphy and Pro Complete $29.99/mo, Pro Saine $26.99/mo, all with a 14-day free trial.

Side-by-side comparison

Pricing

Synergy Homeopathic (Viva) publishes add-on prices on its shop (see the table above). Core Viva is free for current SHS licence holders. Edition package prices for new buyers are not fully listed on the public homepage — unpublished / see their site, or ask Synergy Homeopathic Inc.

Similia is transparent: Free, Pro Base $19.99/mo, Pro Murphy $29.99/mo, Pro Complete $29.99/mo, Pro Saine $26.99/mo, with optional one-time add-ons like Suggesta 2.1 ($299.99), Qrep5 ($99.99), and Mangialavori 100 MM ($119.99).

If you're migrating from MacRepertory or ReferenceWorks and trying to estimate the total cost over time, the cloud subscription model means predictable monthly charges and no surprise upgrade fees — but also no "one-time purchase and done" option. Desktop licensing often works the other way: higher upfront, then occasional paid upgrades.

Repertories

Synergy Viva's repertory set varies by edition. The legacy MacRepertory and ReferenceWorks shipped Kent, Boericke, Boenninghausen, and the Complete Repertory across different tiers; Synergy Viva's exact repertory bundle per edition is not itemised on the public website (as of August 2026). Confirm the repertory list with the vendor before purchasing.

Similia ships 14 repertories across Free + Pro: 7 classical on the free tier (Kent, Boericke, Boenninghausen, Hering, Boger, Ward, Roberts) and 7 premium on Pro (Murphy's MetaRepertory, Complete Repertory 2026, Saine Repertory 2025, Suggesta 2.1, plus other extensions). Every repertory is searchable in parallel through the same semantic search bar.

Materia medica

Synergy Viva's materia medica library is bundled per edition but not enumerated publicly on the vendor's website. Legacy MacRepertory and ReferenceWorks users will be familiar with the depth of the ReferenceWorks MM library; confirm what carries forward into Synergy Viva.

Similia's materia medica is itemised: 13 classic books on Free (Kent, Boericke, Clarke, Allen's Keynotes, Boger, Hering, Nash, Lippe, Paterson and more). Every Pro edition bundles Jan Scholten's full series (Elements, Lanthanides, Minerals, Mosses, Ferns, Qjure, Wonderful Plants — 7 modern MM books); Pro Murphy also bundles Murphy's Nature's MM 4th ed. Suggesta 2.1, Mangialavori 100 MM, Qrep5 and other modern materia medica are available as paid add-ons, bringing the total available to 12+ modern titles.

AI semantic search across the materia medica lets you search every loaded source at once in plain language — a feature not advertised by Synergy Viva at the time of writing.

Search: Synergy Genie vs Similia semantic + AI

Synergy Viva markets optional AI features under the "Genie" brand. Details on exactly what Genie does — semantic search, symptom extraction, analysis, or something else — are not specified on the public website (as of August 2026). This is the critical comparison point for practitioners used to keyword-based repertory lookup: does Genie accept natural-language symptom descriptions and map them to rubrics, and if so, how does it compare to other tools?

Similia's search is semantic by default, built on large-language models. Type an exact plain-English phrase such as scared of the dark or stomach pain after eating, and the platform surfaces matching rubrics across every loaded repertory without requiring you to know the exact phrasing Kent or Boericke used. This is included free on every tier.

Pro adds Notes-to-Rubric (paste consultation notes, get extracted symptoms and proposed rubrics), AI Case Analysis (differential remedy suggestion and symptom discrimination), Live audio transcription (capture consultations in real time with auto-mapped rubrics), and AI Photo Analysis (tongue, skin, lesion photos converted to rubric suggestions).

If Synergy Viva's Genie features offer comparable semantic search and symptom extraction, they may be competitive; if Genie is a keyword enhancement or conventional search augmentation, Similia's AI is structurally more powerful.

Case management

Synergy Viva includes case management as part of the desktop application. Cases live on your local machine; cloud sync is not the default workflow, though the vendor's website references online features — confirm the current sync model with Synergy Homeopathic Inc.

Similia ships complete, simple-to-use case management that's cloud-first by design. Cases are encrypted in transit and at rest, synchronised across all your signed-in devices, and accessible from any modern browser. The interface is built so a new student can record a first case end-to-end without training, while still giving experienced practitioners full control over rubric weighting, case history, follow-ups, and analysis.

Platform & devices

Synergy Viva runs natively on Windows and macOS. Linux and ChromeOS are not officially supported. Mobile companion apps may be available separately — confirm with the vendor.

Similia runs in any modern browser. There is nothing to install, no driver to manage, no platform-specific bug surface. iOS, Android, ChromeOS, Linux, Windows, macOS — all the same.

Updates & roadmap

Synergy Viva ships updates within each licence period; the update model and upgrade pricing structure are not published on the vendor's website (as of August 2026). Confirm the update policy and any periodic upgrade fees with Synergy Homeopathic Inc. before purchasing.

Similia ships continuously — repertory updates, AI improvements, and UI polish land in production weekly without a manual upgrade step.

When Synergy Homeopathic (Viva) is the better choice

1. You're migrating from MacRepertory or ReferenceWorks and want ecosystem continuity. Synergy Viva is the official successor from the same publisher.
2. You prefer desktop applications over browser-based platforms. Native Windows/Mac apps feel different from web tools; if that workflow is non-negotiable, Synergy Viva is built for it.
3. You already know the Synergy interface and don't want to relearn. Switching platforms has a learning curve; staying in the Synergy family minimises it.

When Similia is the better choice

1. You want native AI tools — five of them. Semantic search across repertory and materia medica, Notes-to-Rubric extraction, AI Case Analysis, live audio transcription, and AI Photo Analysis. None of these are detailed on Synergy Viva's public website.
2. You're a busy expert practitioner. Live transcription + auto-mapping saves 10–15 min per consultation; Photo Analysis turns a tongue picture into rubrics in seconds. The volume payoff scales with caseload.
3. You work across devices. Cases need to follow you to a tablet on a home visit, then back to a laptop in the office, without a manual sync step.
4. You want transparent pricing and a free tier you can test forever. Similia's free tier gives you Kent, Boericke, Boenninghausen, Hering, Boger, Ward, Roberts, plus 13 classic materia medica books, AI semantic search, and basic case management capped at 3 new cases and 3 analyses per month.
5. You want to triangulate across multiple repertories in one place. Similia's free tier alone includes seven classical repertories, and Pro adds seven more. Compare that to the repertory bundle in your Synergy edition.

FAQ

Is Synergy Viva the same as MacRepertory?

No. Synergy Viva is the successor to MacRepertory and ReferenceWorks, which ended active development as of April 30, 2025. Viva is a separate application built by the same publisher (Synergy Homeopathic Inc.), launched April 2025. It is not a simple update or rename — it is a new program.

Can I switch from Synergy to Similia?

Yes. There is no official case-import path — Synergy's case data lives in a proprietary local format — but the case template structure is conceptually compatible. Most practitioners migrate active cases manually over a few weeks while keeping Synergy installed for archival reference. For a similar migration story, see our MacRepertory alternative guide.

Does Synergy Viva have AI features?

Synergy Viva markets optional AI features under the "Genie" brand. Details on exactly what Genie does are not specified on the vendor's public website (as of August 2026). Similia ships semantic search across both repertory and materia medica, Notes-to-Rubric, AI Case Analysis, live audio transcription, and AI Photo Analysis as native features.

Which has more repertories?

The repertory count depends on your Synergy Viva edition. Similia ships 14 across Free + Pro: 7 classical on the free tier (Kent, Boericke, Boenninghausen, Hering, Boger, Ward, Roberts) + 7 premium on Pro (Murphy / Complete Repertory 2026 / Saine 2025 / Suggesta 2.1 / extensions). Confirm Synergy Viva's repertory list with the vendor.

Is Synergy Viva free?

No. Synergy Viva requires a purchase; pricing is quote-on-request. Similia's free tier includes seven classical repertories, 13 classic materia medica books, AI semantic search, and basic case management capped at 3 new cases and 3 analyses per month at no cost — and never expires.

Verdict

Synergy Viva and Similia are built for different workflows. Synergy Viva is the right answer if you're migrating from MacRepertory or ReferenceWorks, you prefer a desktop application, and you want to stay in the Synergy ecosystem. Similia is the right answer for the much larger group of practitioners — students, mobile-first practitioners, AI-curious clinicians, and busy expert practitioners — who want a multi-repertory AI-assisted workspace, transparent pricing, and a free tier that already includes 7 classical repertories, 13 classic MM books, AI semantic search, and basic case management capped at 3 new cases and 3 analyses per month, with unlimited cases and the full AI toolkit on Pro.

For most practitioners getting started, use both free tiers if available and spend a week with each. If you want to widen the field, the best homeopathic software 2026 roundup compares five tools side by side, and the MacRepertory alternative guide covers the legacy-to-cloud migration story in more depth. Other desktop repertories in the same conversation: OpenRep vs Similia, Miccant Vision vs Similia and Miccant / ISIS vs Similia.