In the context of environmental concerns for the production of surface active species, the introduction of a carbonyl function into the skeleton of ethyleneglycol-derived solvo-surfactants is a way to access cleavable compounds with presumed enhanced biodegradability. Ethylene glycol monobutyrate (C3COE1) was synthesized and compared to its ether counterparts, ethylene glycol monopropyl (C3E1) and monobutyl ethers (C4E1), to assess the effect of the insertion of a carbonyl function in the skeleton of short-chain ethoxylated amphiphilic Compounds. In aqueous solutions, the ester has intermediate behavior between that of the two ethers with regard to surface tension, solubilization of Menaphtalene in water, and self-diffusion by PGSE NMR. In ternary Systems, C3COE1 and C3E1 have the same optimal oil (EACN = 2.8), which is much more polar than that of C4E1 (EACN = 8.5). With regard to the ability to form structured systems, the behavior in water does not differ significantly for the three compounds, and the transition between nonassociating solvents and amphiphilic solvents, sometimes called solvo-surfactants, is gradual. In ternary systems, however, only C4E1 and C3COE1 form a third phase near the optimal formulation, which tends to show that C3COE1 possesses the minimum amphiphilicity to get a structuration. Self-diffusion NMR studies of the one-phase domains do not, however, allow us to distinguish between different degrees of organization in the three systems.