The kinetics of methanolysis of a number of esters endowed with a carboxylate anchoring group have been investigated in the presence of di- and trinuclear Zn2+ complexes of calix[4]arenes functionalized at the upper rim with nitrogen ligands. The results (i) emphasize the importance of a good match between ester size and intermetal distance, (ii) reveal a substrate independent superiority of the 1,2-vicinal dinuclear catalyst 1-Zn-2 to its 1,3-distal regioisomer 2-Zn-2, and (iii) provide further evidence for the concurrence of the three metal ions of 3-Zn-3 in the catalytic mechanism.