One of the most striking trends over the past 20 years is the growth in the number of lone parent families in developed countries. This article provides an analysis of the structure of incentives in benefit systems for lone parents in a cross‐national perspective, using data from a recent comparative study of the systems of support for families with children in 17 countries (the members of the European Union, Australia, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United States). The article compares the level of benefits for lone parents and takes into account the impact of housing costs, health costs, and education and preschool provision. It assesses the possible incentive effects of different systems through a comparison of the financial positions of lone parents not in paid employment, lone parents in the labour market and other family type