# colis or a hosted transfer service?

> Upload on their site, get a link. Quick, but the file sits on someone else’s servers. Where a hosted transfer service and colis overlap, where they differ, and when each is enough.

Canonical: https://colis-site.vercel.app/en/alternatives/service-d-envoi · Markdown: https://colis-site.vercel.app/en/alternatives/service-d-envoi.md · Français: https://colis-site.vercel.app/alternatives/service-d-envoi

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
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.

## 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 |

## 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.

## 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