Paid, free or fee based internships in Pakistan: the honest comparison
Three models exist in Pakistan, and the price tells you very little about which one is worth your three months. This page explains what each model really means, where Ezitech sits, and exactly what our fee is.
Straight answer about us: Ezitech does not pay a stipend. The internship has a one time programme fee of PKR 5,000 for the full three months, not per month, and if the programme is not what we described you can get it back within the first seven days. The rest of this page explains why that model exists and how to judge it against the alternatives.
The three models
| Model | What it usually means | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Paid (stipend) | The company pays you, usually because you are doing production work they need | Real, but competitive and rare for beginners. Some “paid” roles are just cheap labour with no teaching. |
| Free (unpaid) | No money either way. Common in Pakistan. | Often means nobody is assigned to teach you. You sit, you watch, you get a certificate. |
| Fee based | You pay for structured supervision, mentors and tools | The model fake “internships” abuse. Ask exactly what the fee buys before paying anything. |
None of the three is automatically good or bad. The question that actually predicts your three months is simpler: is someone senior paid to review your work every week? If the answer is no, the internship is unlikely to change your CV, whatever the price.
Why our internship has a fee
A free internship at most companies means you do unpaid work and nobody teaches you. Our model is the opposite: we pay people to teach you. Mentors, supervisors, lab space, tools, project management and certification cost money every month, and the programme fee covers that.
Where the fee goes, in the company’s own breakdown: mentors and supervisors 45 percent, lab, tools and software licences 20 percent, the AI supervisor and intern portal 15 percent, and the remainder on project management and certification.
- The fee is PKR 5,000 in total for the three month programme, not a monthly charge.
- Seven day refund. If it is not what we described, you get your money back in the first week.
- We do not sell certificates, and we do not promise guaranteed jobs. Any programme that does is selling something else.
Full details, including how to pay and current intake dates, are on the internship programme page.
Before you pay any internship fee
- Ask what the fee covers, item by item. A company that cannot answer in one message has not thought about it.
- Ask for the refund policy in writing. No refund window is a warning sign.
- Check the company is real. Office address you can visit, registration, a team page, and work you can see.
- Ask who your mentor is and what they do there. “A senior developer” with no name is not an answer.
- Never pay for a certificate alone. The certificate is a receipt for work, not the product.
- Be suspicious of urgency. “Only two seats left, pay today” is a sales tactic, not an admissions process.
What a credible certificate should contain is covered on our internship certificate page.
How to compare two offers
Put the money aside for a moment and compare these five things instead.
- Will you work on a live project or a practice task?
- How often is your work reviewed, and by whom?
- What will you have built by the last day?
- What documents do you receive: completion certificate, experience letter, both?
- Can you speak to someone who finished it last cycle?
A free internship that wins on all five beats a fee based one that does not, and a stipend means little if nobody reviews your work.
Paid and free internship questions
Is the Ezitech internship paid?
No. There is no stipend. The internship has a one time programme fee of PKR 5,000 for the whole three months, with a seven day refund window if it is not what we described.
What does “paid internship” mean in Pakistan?
It means the company pays you a stipend, usually monthly. It is more common in larger companies and for interns doing production work, and it is competitive for students with no experience.
Are free internships with certificates worth doing?
Only when real review sits behind them. A certificate issued for attendance or for watching videos adds nothing to a CV. Ask who reviews your work before you judge the price.
Is it normal to pay for an internship?
It is common in structured training programmes and unusual in ordinary company placements. It is reasonable when the fee pays for mentors and tools, and it is a scam when it pays for a certificate and nothing else.
Is the PKR 5,000 fee monthly or for the whole internship?
It is the total for the three month programme, paid once, not a monthly fee.
What does the PKR 5,000 fee cover?
Mentors and supervisors, lab space, tools and software licences, the intern portal, project management and certification. The breakdown is published on the internship programme page.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, within the first seven days if the programme is not what was described to you.
Next steps
See tracks, dates and how to apply. Also useful: summer internship 2026, the fully remote option, and how to get an internship in a software house. For the terms in Urdu, including paid internship ka matlab, see our Urdu guide.