One of the problems that people face when talking about these two words is the confusion that usually arises when the term metal is used to refer to iron or when the iron is being called a metal. The major difference between the two is that iron is an example of a metal, which means there are other elements that can be referred to as metals.
Metal is from a Greek word Metallon, and it's simply a general name for every element in the periodic table which has the chemical capacity to form a metallic bond with other atoms. On the other hand, iron is from a Latin word Ferrum, and it is from this Latin word that it gets its symbol, which is Fe. It is one of the most abundant metals on earth, and it is used for so many things. Iron is also one of the metals with multiple oxidation states.