Sending the file
Upload on their site, get a link. Quick, but the file sits on someone else’s servers.
Both give the client a link to a file that expires. colis runs on storage you own, and the pickup page asks the client for an answer rather than only offering a download.
A hosted transfer service
In its own terms.
Upload the file on a transfer website, get a download link, send it to the client. No setup, and the link works in any browser.
Side by side
Where they part ways.
| colis | A hosted transfer service | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file lives | Your bucket: S3, R2, MinIO, Scaleway, Wasabi | The service’s servers |
| Knowing it was opened | Sent, opened, approved or changes, each with its time | Depends on the service and the plan |
| The client’s answer | Approve, or ask for changes with a comment, from the pickup page. Once, for good | Outside the service |
| Starting an automation | A signed webhook at every step, and an n8n node | Depends on the service |
| Large files | Straight from the browser to the bucket in parts, resumable; 2 GB by default | The service’s limits |
| What the client needs | Nothing: a code or a link | Depends on the service |
| When it goes away | When you say: ten minutes to your maximum, or at the first download | The service’s rules |
The differences
What actually changes.
Whose storage
On a hosted service the file sits on the service’s servers, under its terms. With colis the bytes go from the browser to your bucket and back; nobody else holds a copy.
An answer, not only a download
The pickup page shows the file, then asks: approve the delivery, or ask for changes. The answer is recorded and timestamped.
Your page, your rules
Lifetime, password, burn after download, maximum size: they are your deployment’s settings, in environment variables you can read.
What it costs you instead
A hosted service needs nothing from you. colis needs a bucket, a key pair and one deployment, which is the price of owning the storage.
The decision
Pick the one that fits.
Keep a hosted transfer service when
- You send a file now and then, and setting anything up is not worth it
- The file may live on a third party’s servers
- You need no answer from the client
Pick colis when
- Files should stay in storage you own
- You want the client’s approval, not just a download
- Every step should be able to start an automation
- You already have an S3 or R2 bucket
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.