Sending the file
Good for working together over time; heavy for handing over one deliverable.
Both let a client get files from you without email. A shared folder is a place to work together; a colis parcel is one handover, with a start, an answer and an end.
A shared cloud folder
In its own terms.
Put the files in a folder of your cloud drive and share it with the client. The folder stays, and both sides can come back to it.
Side by side
Where they part ways.
| colis | A shared cloud folder | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file lives | Your bucket: S3, R2, MinIO, Scaleway, Wasabi | The sharer’s cloud account |
| Knowing it was opened | Sent, opened, approved or changes, each with its time | Depends on the tool |
| The client’s answer | Approve, or ask for changes with a comment, from the pickup page. Once, for good | Comments, depending on the tool |
| Starting an automation | A signed webhook at every step, and an n8n node | Depends on the tool |
| Large files | Straight from the browser to the bucket in parts, resumable; 2 GB by default | The account’s quota |
| What the client needs | Nothing: a code or a link | Depends on the sharing settings |
| When it goes away | When you say: ten minutes to your maximum, or at the first download | When someone deletes the folder |
The differences
What actually changes.
A handover, not a place
A parcel is one file under one code, with a lifetime. Once the client has answered and the code has expired, there is nothing left to tidy.
The answer is part of it
The pickup page ends on a question: approve, or ask for changes. The answer lands in the receipt and in a webhook, not in a comment next to a file.
Whose storage
A shared folder lives in the sharer’s cloud account. A parcel lives in your own bucket, on a provider you choose.
The decision
Pick the one that fits.
Keep a shared cloud folder when
- You and the client work on the same files over weeks
- The client should keep the files, organised, afterwards
- Several people edit the same documents
Pick colis when
- You hand over a finished version and want it signed off
- The link should stop working after a set time, or after one download
- The files should stay in your bucket, not in a shared account
More comparisons
The other ways.
Send it. They sign off. You know.
Your storage, a delivery page under your name, a webhook at every step. Nothing hosted by someone else.