On paper, Codementor and a Shipsteady session both sound like "pay a senior engineer for live help." The shape of the help is different.
Codementor is a marketplace. You browse mentors, pick one, pay by the minute. We're one engineer at a fixed price who carries your project from one session to the next. If what you want is a tutor next to you while you write code, Codementor fits. If you want an engineer to look at what you've built and tell you what to do, a session with us is the better shape.
How help gets priced
Codementor mentors set their own rates and bill by the minute. Most fall between $20 and $200 an hour, with a premium for short instant-help calls. The meter starts when you connect.
A Shipsteady session is one fixed price. You pay once when you book. The price is the same whether you talk for five minutes or the full call. There is no meter to watch.
Who's looking at your project
The same engineer, every time. We carry the picture of your project from one session to the next, so the second call doesn't start with you re-explaining what your product is and where the awkward parts are.
Codementor is a marketplace. Each session is a fresh hire. You can rebook the same person, but you have to find them again and start the conversation from a clean slate. The marketplace is the product. Picking is the price you pay for the variety.
What 'mentor' usually means
Mentorship has a specific shape. Someone watches you write code, points at the line you're typing, and explains why it works. The customer is usually a developer or a learner who wants to get better at writing code themselves.
That is not what we do. The founders we talk to don't want a tutor. They want a senior engineer to look at what they've built with AI tools and tell them whether it holds up and what to do next. The call is a conversation about decisions, not a coding lesson.
What you walk away with
After a Codementor session, you have an answer to whatever you were working on while the call was running, and a charge against your card based on minutes spent. If you want help next time, you go back to the marketplace.
After a Shipsteady session, you have a clear direction on the thing you brought, and an engineer who already knows your project for next time. If you don't need another call, you don't book one. If you do, same price, same engineer.
At a glance
| Dimension | Codementor | Shipsteady |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Each mentor sets their own rate. Most fall between $20 and $200 an hour, with a premium for instant help. | €199 (Regular) or €329 (Priority). One fixed price per session. |
| Commitment | Marketplace account with a card on file. The meter starts when you connect. | Book a slot. Pay once. Nothing renews.Stronger fit on this row |
| Who you talk to | A different mentor each time, unless you find one and rebook them | The same senior engineer, every sessionStronger fit on this row |
| How time is billed | Per-minute meter. Clarifying questions cost real money. | One fixed price for the whole call. Ask what you want.Stronger fit on this row |
| Who it's built for | Developers and learners who want a tutor next to them while they code | Non-technical founders who want an engineer to look at what they've built |
| Best for | Hands-on tutoring while you write codeStronger fit on this row | Decisions, reviews, getting unstuck on something specific |
The decision
Different shapes for different work.
Neither one is universally better. Here is the cleanest way to tell which fits the work you have right now.
Pick them
When codementor is the right choice
- You're learning to code and want someone to tutor you live while you write.
- You need a specialist on a tool we don't know well.
- You have a quick one-off question and don't need a full call.
What you actually want might be a tutor: someone who sits with you while you code and points at the line you're typing. Codementor is built for that. You pick a mentor, pay for the minutes you use, and walk away. We're not it.
Pick us
When Shipsteady is the right choice
- You built something with AI tools and want a senior engineer to look at it and tell you whether it holds up.
- You have one specific decision or blocker and want a clear answer in one sitting.
- You don't want to shop for a new mentor every time, or re-explain what your project does.
- You want a fixed price you can plan around, with no meter.
If you've built something with Cursor, Claude, or whatever tool got you this far, and you want one experienced person to look at it and tell you what's solid and what isn't, a single live call with the same engineer each time is a better shape than a marketplace. No picking a new mentor each time. No meter to watch. You book the slot, talk it through, and leave knowing what to do next.
Your engineer
The same person in every session. That is the whole point.
Spas, the founder. 15+ years across identity systems, enterprise platforms, and product development. We carry the picture of your project from one session to the next, so the second call does not start from zero.
Built and run from Sofia.
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