Looking for recommendations for a swing set. Also would like to hear pro/cons for metal vs. wood. vs. plastic.

Go metal. Sam's club has some lifetime metal sets that would work (swings or swings + slide + Ect). We went with wood because the Mrs. wanted that because she said they look nicer. I told her I wasn't going to stain it yearly but she said she would. Five years later......it has never been stained, looks like crap & is starting to come apart.

My wife will almost never admit to being wrong but she even said if we were to buy a swing set again it would be metal.

We bought a Rainbow Play System redwood unit for our daughters when the oldest was about 1 and a half. Couple of swings, a slide and a little fort thing for climbing. Fairly simple unit but plenty for them to do.

That thing may be the best interactive "toy" money we ever spent for our kids. We used it (and so did our friends and their kids) for about 10 years and then the folks that bought our house wanted it for their young kids so they kept it. Their kids outgrew it and they SOLD it. Our oldest daughter has now graduated A&M and that thing was still going.

I never stained it. I do think the second owner stained it. The set was bulletproof and worth every dime we spent on it and it was a stretch for us at the time. Highly recommend them.

We have a Tree Frog swing set, the kids love it and it is built really well. We are getting them an add on for Christmas this year.

Wood playsets

Pro
Look better than metal
Have lots of play activities in addition to a swing
You can usually get a good deal on a nice playset set at Costco

Con
I can't stress this enough. Depending on how old your kids are you will need to stain that thing multiple times and mine was like a wooden sponge. It is a LOT of dirty miserable work.

Go metal. Our Lifetime is 4 years old and looks brand new:

https://www.competitiveedgeproducts.com/Lifetime-Swing-Set---90143-Monkey-Bar-Playground-with-Slide_p_1492.html

Also: easy enough to assemble.

Lifetime metal owner of 5 years here. Go metal and never worry about staining it and it is a super easy set up.

Had wood. Recommend metal.