What's the difference between Vimeo and a client gallery?

Vimeo is a video-hosting and publishing platform. A client gallery is a private delivery space for one client and one project. They overlap on playback, but they are built for different jobs.

Vimeo is excellent at putting a film in front of an audience: embeds, showcases, a public profile. As a delivery tool it has gaps. The download, when enabled, is often Vimeo's re-encoded version rather than your master. Galleries are limited to video, so photos need another service. Privacy is link- or password-based but sits inside a platform that is fundamentally public-facing. And the experience carries Vimeo's brand and interface conventions.

A client gallery flips the priorities. It is private by default, it delivers your untouched original alongside instant streaming, it holds video and photos together, it wears your branding, and it tells you when the client has downloaded the files.

Many filmmakers use both: Vimeo for the public portfolio, DLVRD for delivering the actual work to the people who paid for it.