We found this cart to be the most versatile of the bunch, while also being one of the easiest to pull and maneuver around the yard. The shape of the basin, with its flat bottom and sloped sides, makes it useful for carrying around both hard items, like tools and pots, and loose items, like a load of compost. The steering system, wheel size and quality, and high clearance made it easy to maneuver around the yard and back it into the exact spots where we needed it. It handles really well over humps of dirt, grassy areas and even muddy spots in the yard. Its high weight capacity also makes it great for moving very dense items such as rocks. The dump feature is really useful, though we did have some trouble with the wheels moving and getting tangled in one another when using it. (The whole bottom moves and basically gets shorter as the basin tilts to dump.) After a few times, though, we got better at dumping more efficiently and preventing that from happening. A quick note on assembly: Two people are better than one. The instructions weren't complex, but we found some steps to be difficult without a second set of hands.

This no-frills cart is essentially a 15.5-gallon bucket on wheels. While it doesn't have any special features, it's an affordable option to store and transport all of your gardening items from your garage or shed to your yard. It's also very quick and easy to assemble: All we had to do was attach the handles with a screwdriver. The biggest thing you will sacrifice for the price is the smooth handling that many of the other more expensive carts offer. Since the wheels are small and plastic, it doesn't handle very well and there's really no shock absorption. We sometimes had to just force the cart over mounds of dirt or even quickly lift it up over the tough spot and swing it to where we wanted it to be. If you have a very large garden or yard and need something that can travel a distance, it's probably not the best choice, but for anyone with a smaller yard and garden, it certainly gets the job done for a budget-friendly price.

This wagon is so spacious that we were able to load it up with three five-gallon buckets, a shovel, a pitchfork, hedge trimmers, a hand saw, an extension cord and other small tools — with room to spare. It also makes for a great mode of transportation for your toddler (in a separate trip from the sharp tools, of course). The handle is responsive, making it easy to steer, and we appreciated the lock feature on the wheels when parking it on the sloped part of a yard. The best part about this cart? It unfolds and folds very easily and packs down quite small, which is ideal if your storage space is limited or you need to transport it in your car. (It could certainly double as a beach wagon in the summer, too!) Our only gripe is that you can't remove the fabric and toss it in the washing machine, so it'll need to be hosed down as best as possible once it gets really dirty.

It may be called a yard cart, but this workhorse does so much more than tote around your gloves and trowel. It's got two wheels and eight functions, including a bag holder to make yard waste cleanup a breeze, a dolly for lifting and moving heavy items, a cylinder carrier, a potted plant strap and a netted strap for carrying large rocks. And you can buy additional add-ons separately, including a snowplow and a firewood carrier. It wasn't our top choice for moving and dumping soil, and the basin slope isn't as helpful as a flatter wagon for carrying things upright, but it can do both of those things sufficiently and so much more. (There's also a tub organizer you can buy for it, which would help optimize it further.) Its versatility is what makes it well worth the splurge, especially if you're someone who likes to do a lot of yard work and landscaping yourself but need a little help in the strength department. It was engineered to make heavy loads feel lighter, and we definitely experienced that while carting around heavy materials. Plus, assembling it took all of five minutes, requiring no tools, so you definitely get the convenience that you'd expect for the price tag.

A cross between a garden cart and a traditional wheelbarrow, this two-wheeled option is versatile and very easy to both push and pull. It's a great option if you want to buy one item that you can use for both equipment and soil or rock transportation. We appreciated that the handle was long enough to be comfortable for taller testers and that the shape of the cart kept it from hitting our heels when pulling it behind. The large rubber wheels make it easy to move over various terrains, including going up and down mounds of soil, even when it's fully loaded up. We also loved how easy it was to dump over and completely empty.

Sturdy metal construction and collapsible sides let this garden cart moonlight as a flatbed, making it all around a great pick for moving large materials like pieces of wood, bags of soil, landscaping rocks and edging, and garden fence posts. We used it to transport chopped firewood and large, Costco-sized bags of soil; we also loaded it up with a large shovel and spade and a bucket of smaller tools for some light-duty gardening work. Thanks to its large rubber wheels and solid turn radius, this cart utility wagon was easy to steer throughout the yard and garden. One thing to note on assembly: It took about 45 minutes, which was the longest of all the carts we tested. We found that using the tools listed in the directions (a screwdriver and wrench) made it quite challenging to put together; using a drill and a ratchet instead made assembly easier. But once it's together, it is very useful, so it's worth putting in the time upfront.