All three are forms of broad-based employee ownership, but they differ in cost, complexity, and mechanics. An EOT holds the company in trust for employees, who do not buy their own shares; it tends to have lower setup costs and more flexibility than an ESOP, but it does not offer the selling owner the capital-gains tax deferral an ESOP or worker cooperative can. An ESOP is a regulated retirement-benefit plan with higher setup and compliance costs. A worker cooperative is directly member-owned and governed one-member-one-vote.

The size of an ESOP repurchase obligation is driven by a combination of plan design, workforce demographics, share value, and distribution policies.

Setting up an Employee Ownership Trust typically costs $50,000 to $80,000 one time, covering legal drafting of the trust and related documents plus deal structuring. Ongoing maintenance runs about $10,000 to $20,000 a year, paid to the trustee. These are planning ranges, not quotes, and vary with the company and the deal.

An Employee Ownership Trust is usually governed in three layers: a trustee who holds the company in trust and owes a fiduciary duty to the employee beneficiaries, the company's board of directors that runs the business, and a trust stewardship committee (often including employees) that represents employee interests and safeguards the company's mission. The exact roles and how they interact are set in the trust documents.