Divi 5 Review: Shortcode Lock-In is Dead, Performance is Fixed - For Real This Time

Divi 4 was a broken mess. 20+ seconds LCP scores when Google wants under 2.5 seconds. Shortcode lock-in that turned your content into gibberish the moment you switched themes. That’s not “needs improvement” - that’s vendor lock-in by design.

So when Elegant Themes announced a complete rewrite in 2022, the question wasn’t “will Divi 5 be better?” It was: “Is Divi 5 actually good, or just less shit than Divi 4?”

Fair question. Let me break down whether this comeback is real or just marketing spin.

⚡ 30-Second Verdict: Divi 5

TL;DR: They actually fixed the performance nightmare and killed the shortcode lock-in. Divi 5 is now a legitimate option instead of a trap. The lifetime pricing ($249 for unlimited sites) makes it the best value for agencies and freelancers - if you can tolerate being 6 months behind Bricks/Elementor on cutting-edge features.

Quick facts:

Verdict: 7.5/10 - Actually delivered on the fixes, but the 2-year delay let competitors eat their lunch.

Use Divi 5 if: You need unlimited sites for agencies/freelancers and want lifetime pricing ($249) instead of paying $59-199/year forever.

Use instead: Elementor Pro if you need the absolute latest features, or Gutenberg if you prioritize clean code.

Full Disclosure: My Bias

What I make from Divi:

• Divi Lifetime ($249): $124.50 one-time (what I’m recommending)
• Divi Annual ($89/year): $44.50/year recurring (pays me MORE long-term)
• I’m recommending the option that pays me LESS because it’s actually better value

What I make from competitors:

• Elementor Pro: ~$20-40/sale depending on plan
• Bricks Builder: Not part of affiliate program
• Breakdance: Not part of affiliate program
• Kadence WP: ~$30-60/sale depending on plan

If I were purely mercenary:

• I’d push Divi Annual (more money over time)
• I wouldn’t mention Bricks or Breakdance (zero commission)
• I’d hide the fact that Gutenberg is free

Instead, I’m ranking by total value. Don’t trust me blindly - verify everything using the sources linked throughout this review.

The Situation Was Actually Fucked

Old Divi’s LCP score was 21.7 seconds with Google’s target being under 2.5 seconds. That’s not “a little slow” - that’s “hire a professional developer” levels of broken. Sites built with Divi 4 were actively hurting users’ SEO and conversion rates.

The shortcode-based content lock-in was worse. Your content became gibberish the moment you deactivated Divi:

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Your actual content buried in this mess
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That wasn’t a bug. That was vendor lock-in by design. WordPress is supposed to be about portability - Divi 4 rejected that principle entirely and trapped your content.

Sources:

• [Shortcode Lock-in Documentation]

What They Actually Fixed (Give Credit Where It’s Due)

In November 2022, Elegant Themes announced a complete rewrite of Divi’s core. That takes balls - most companies would just keep band-aiding the old codebase and hope nobody notices.

Performance: From “Broken” to “Actually Competitive”

Dynamic assets and modularized JavaScript mean Divi 5 sites can now achieve 100 on Google PageSpeed on all devices - according to Elegant Themes’ marketing.

The claimed improvement: 21.7 seconds LCP → under 2.5 seconds.

My take: These are Elegant Themes’ own tests, probably run on a bare-bones demo site with zero plugins, hosted on premium infrastructure, with all the performance tricks maxed out. Classic marketing benchmark bullshit.

The reality for you: Your mileage will vary based on:

• How many plugins you pile on
• Your actual hosting (shared hosting ≠ their test environment)
• How bloated your client makes their homepage
• Whether you actually optimize images or just upload 5MB JPEGs

Can Divi 5 hit good PageSpeed scores? Yes, independent users are reporting improvements. Is it automatically 100 on every site? Not even close.

Don’t trust me, don’t trust Elegant Themes - run your own tests:

• [Google PageSpeed Insights] - Test your actual site
• [GTmetrix] - More detailed breakdown
• [WebPageTest] - Industry standard testing

Source for their claims: [Divi 5 Performance]

Shortcodes Are Dead (This Was The Big One)

Divi 5 adopts a Gutenberg-like block-based approach. Content now saves in a block-based format instead of proprietary shortcodes. This means:

• Switch themes without your content turning to gibberish
• Gutenberg cross-compatibility (not perfect, but possible)
• No more vendor lock-in trap

This is why I can now actually recommend Divi Lifetime in my Divi vs Elementor comparison - the #1 criticism is fixed.

Source: [Divi 5 Block System]

The Developer API They Should’ve Built Years Ago

The new API gives developers the same tools Elegant Themes uses to build Divi. Third-party plugin developers no longer need to fight the system just to extend functionality.

Why this matters: Better third-party plugins = more features without waiting for Elegant Themes to build them.

Customizable Breakpoints (Finally)

Previously stuck at 3 fixed breakpoints (desktop at 980px, tablet at 980px, mobile at 767px). Now supporting up to 7 customizable breakpoints.

This is basic responsive design in 2025, but at least they implemented it properly instead of half-assing it.

Source: [Customizable Breakpoints]

The Timeline Issue: Yeah, It Took Way Too Long

Development took almost 2 years before users got an alpha version, and it was still missing features from Divi 4. That’s a long time to leave paying customers in limbo wondering if they backed the wrong horse.

What happened during those 2 years?

• Bricks Builder emerged targeting professional developers and won industry awards
• Elementor maintained its 10+ million active user base and kept shipping features
• Breakdance launched with a generous free tier and undercut everyone on pricing
• Kadence became the go-to for Gutenberg-native builders

Meanwhile, Divi users were stuck with broken performance and shortcode lock-in, wondering if Elegant Themes had abandoned them.

But here’s the thing: In January 2025, Elegant Themes announced a “feature swap” - postponing less popular features to ship highly requested ones like customizable breakpoints first. They were listening, just slowly.

Too slowly? Yeah. But they actually delivered instead of giving up.

Source: [Divi 5 Timeline]

The AI Integration Reality Check

Divi AI is built into Divi 5 for generating layouts, images, and text with a single click. Does it work? Yes. Is it magic? Fuck no.

What AI actually does:

• Generates starting point layouts (still need customization)
• Creates placeholder images (fine for mockups, replace for production)
• Writes generic copy (sounds like every other AI-written homepage)

What AI doesn’t do:

• Understand your brand voice
• Create production-ready sites
• Replace actual strategic thinking

Performance can be a concern - some AI builders generate bloated code behind the scenes that tanks site speed and SEO. Divi’s AI generates starting points that you still need to optimize.

Cost reality: Divi AI is included in Divi Pro ($277/year), not the regular plans. That’s $188/year more than the base $89/year plan.

Worth it if you build sites frequently. Overkill if you’re building 1-2 sites per year - you’d spend less time just building it properly the first time.

My take: AI is a faster starting point, not a replacement for knowing what the fuck you’re doing. Use it to speed up initial setup, then customize everything.

The Reddit Reality: What Users Actually Say

What Users Like

Common praise:

• NOBODY has done what ElegantThemes is trying to pull off. That is, nobody has taken their page builder and completely overhauled while still allowing it to migrated properly from old version
• Performance improvements are real (users reporting actual speed gains)
• Block-based system makes content portable
• Backward compatibility works (Divi 4 sites migrate without breaking)
• Lifetime pricing still beats competitors on value

Source: [r/divi discussions]

What Users Complain About

Issue #1: Missing Features on Launch

Some Divi 4 features weren’t available in Divi 5 alpha. Users who jumped early got burned. Elegant Themes eventually added them back, but the initial launch was incomplete.

Issue #2: Learning Curve for Existing Users

The interface changed significantly. Users comfortable with Divi 4 had to relearn workflows. Not terrible, but annoying when you’re trying to ship client work.

Issue #3: The 2-Year Wait

Paying customers stuck with broken performance for 2 years while competitors kept innovating. Some left for Bricks/Elementor and didn’t come back.

Pattern: Divi 5 delivers on its promises, but Elegant Themes’ slow development cycle means you’re always 6-12 months behind cutting-edge features from faster-moving competitors.

Pricing: The Math That Actually Matters

Here’s why Divi wins on value for agencies and freelancers:

Divi Lifetime: $249 one-time for unlimited sites

Compare to competitors over 5 years:

The math is brutal: If you need unlimited sites, Divi Lifetime ($249) beats everything except free Gutenberg.

For agencies building 10+ sites/year: Divi pays for itself in project #1. Every site after that is pure profit.

For freelancers: You save $46-746 over 5 years compared to Elementor, depending on which plan you’d need.

Sources (verify pricing yourself):

• [Divi Pricing]
• [Elementor Pricing]
• [Bricks Pricing]
• [Breakdance Pricing]
• [Kadence Pricing]

Comparison to Competitors: The Honest Breakdown

Where Divi 5 Wins

• Lifetime pricing for unlimited sites ($249 vs $599 Bricks, vs $89-299/year everyone else)
• Actually fixed the performance and lock-in problems
• One-button migration from Divi 4 (backward compatibility works)
• Huge third-party ecosystem (themes, plugins, tutorials)

Where Divi 5 Loses

• No free tier (Elementor Free, Breakdance Free, Gutenberg Free all exist)
• Slow development cycle (always 6-12 months behind on features)
• Interface learning curve (especially for Divi 4 users)
• AI costs extra ($277/year for Divi Pro vs included in Kadence/Elementor)

The honest verdict: Divi 5 is the best value for agencies/freelancers who need unlimited sites and don’t need bleeding-edge features the day they launch.

Better Alternatives to Divi 5 (When They Make Sense)

I rank by value, not commission. Here’s when to use something else:

For Beginners Who Want Free: Gutenberg

Why it’s better:

• Completely free, built into WordPress core
• No vendor lock-in (it’s the WordPress standard)
• Lightweight and fast

Trade-offs:

• Limited design flexibility without premium plugins
• Fewer advanced features out of the box
• Steeper learning curve for complex layouts

My commission: $0 (I make nothing from Gutenberg)

Total cost comparison:

• Divi 5: $249 lifetime
• Gutenberg: $0
• You save: $249

For Free Tier Testing: Elementor Free or Breakdance Free

Why it’s better:

• Test before committing money
• Elementor Free supports unlimited sites (limited features)
• Breakdance Free includes 80 elements

Trade-offs:

• Missing Pro features (WooCommerce builder, advanced widgets, etc.)
• Still proprietary lock-in (not block-based like Divi 5)

My commission: $0 for free tiers

Upgrade paths:

• Elementor Essential: $59/year (1 site) - I make ~$20
• Breakdance Pro: $199.99/year (unlimited) - I make $0

[Try Elementor Free] | [Try Breakdance Free]

For Developers Who Prioritize Clean Code: Bricks

Why it’s better:

• Cleanest code output (less bloat = better performance)
• No jQuery dependency (modern vanilla JS)
• Better for custom development and edge cases

Trade-offs:

• No lifetime option ($249/year vs Divi $249 lifetime)
• Steeper learning curve
• Smaller third-party ecosystem

My commission: $0 (Bricks has no affiliate program)

Total cost comparison (5 years, unlimited sites):

• Divi Lifetime: $249
• Bricks Agency: $1,245 ($249/year × 5)
• Divi saves you: $996 over 5 years

Or get Bricks Lifetime: $599 one-time (still $350 more than Divi, but worth it for clean code)

For Gutenberg-Native Builders: Kadence WP

Why it’s better:

• Built on Gutenberg (no proprietary lock-in)
• Excellent free tier (Kadence Theme + Blocks)
• Good balance of features and performance

Trade-offs:

• Lifetime option is $899 (vs Divi $249)
• Annual Ultimate is $299/year (vs Divi $89/year)
• Less mature than Divi/Elementor ecosystems

My commission: ~$30-60/sale depending on plan

Total cost comparison (lifetime, unlimited sites):

• Divi Lifetime: $249 (unlimited)
• Kadence Lifetime: $899 (25 sites) or $999 (1000 sites)
• Divi saves you: $650-750

Use Kadence if: You want Gutenberg-native and don’t mind paying $650 more for that peace of mind.

[Kadence Pricing]

Migration Guide: Upgrading from Divi 4 to Divi 5

Already on Divi 4? Here’s how to upgrade without breaking your sites:

Before You Upgrade

Backup everything:

1. Use your hosting backup feature
2. Export Divi layouts (just in case)
3. Test on staging site first (if available)

Check compatibility:

• Review your third-party Divi plugins
• Verify theme child customizations
• Test custom CSS/code snippets

Upgrade Steps

Week 1: Backup and prepare

1. Create full site backup
2. Update all plugins to latest versions
3. Set up staging site (if available)

Week 2: Test upgrade on staging

1. Update Divi to 5.0 on staging
2. Test all pages and layouts
3. Check custom functionality
4. Note any issues or changes needed

Week 3: Production upgrade

1. Schedule during low-traffic period
2. Update Divi to 5.0 on production
3. Monitor for issues
4. Fix any broken layouts (rare, but possible)

Backward compatibility: Divi 5 was designed to support legacy Divi 4 modules. Most sites migrate with zero issues using the one-button update.

Source: [Divi 5 Migration Guide]

Final Verdict: Divi 5 Gets 7.5/10

Score breakdown:

• Performance: 9/10 - Actually fixed the 21.7s nightmare, now hits Google’s targets
• Features: 7/10 - Has what you need, but 6-12 months behind cutting edge
• Value for money: 9/10 - $249 lifetime for unlimited sites is unbeatable (except free Gutenberg)
• Portability: 8/10 - Block-based system fixed the lock-in, but not as clean as native Gutenberg
• Development Speed: 5/10 - 2-year rewrite shows they care, but slow iteration hurts

Overall: 7.5/10

Use Divi 5 if:

• You need unlimited sites for agencies/freelancers
• You want lifetime pricing ($249 one-time) instead of recurring fees
• You value cost savings over bleeding-edge features
• You’re starting fresh or migrating from Divi 4 (one-button upgrade)
• You can tolerate being 6 months behind on new features

Don’t use Divi 5 if:

• You need the absolute latest features day one (use Elementor or Breakdance)
• You prioritize clean code over cost (use Bricks)
• You want Gutenberg-native to avoid any lock-in (use Kadence or core Gutenberg)
• You want a free tier to test first (use Elementor Free or Breakdance Free)
• You need fast support response (Elegant Themes is slow)

The Honest Bottom Line

Divi 5 is a legitimate comeback. They actually fixed the performance nightmare (21.7s → 2.5s) and killed the shortcode lock-in. The lifetime pricing ($249 for unlimited sites) makes it the best value for agencies and freelancers building multiple sites.

But you’re paying for that value with slower feature development. Expect to be 6-12 months behind Elementor/Breakdance on cutting-edge stuff. If you need the latest features the day they launch, pay more for faster-moving builders.

For most users? Divi Lifetime ($249) wins on pure math. Read my full Divi vs Elementor comparison for detailed breakdowns.

⚡ Verify This Yourself

Want to see the raw data behind my claims? Check out the data spreadsheets - technical details, ownership records, pricing comparisons, and more.

Don’t trust me. Verify everything:

Divi 5 official claims:

• Features and roadmap: [Divi 5 Official Page]
• Performance documentation: [Customizable Breakpoints]
• API documentation: [Divi 5 Interface Guide]

Independent reviews:

• Divi Engine first impressions: [First Impressions]
• Timeline analysis: [When to Start Using Divi 5]

Competitor pricing (verify yourself):

• Elementor: [Official Pricing]
• Bricks: [Official Pricing]
• Breakdance: [Official Pricing]
• Kadence WP: [Official Pricing]

Competitor comparisons:

• Bricks vs Elementor: [Comparison]
• AI website builders analysis: [AI Builders]

My commission claims:

• Divi affiliate program: I earn 50% commission on sales (~$124.50 for lifetime, $44.50/year for annual)
• Elementor affiliate program: Variable commission (~$20-40 depending on plan)
• Bricks: No affiliate program ($0)
• Breakdance: No affiliate program ($0)
• Kadence: Affiliate program (~$30-60 depending on plan)

Legal Note: This review contains both documented facts (linked to sources) and my personal opinions based on those facts. All opinions are clearly marked as such. I’m not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

Affiliate disclosure: I make money from affiliate links to Divi, Elementor, and Kadence WP. I make nothing from Bricks or Breakdance because they don’t have affiliate programs. I rank by value instead of commission - that’s why free Gutenberg and zero-commission Bricks are recommended above for specific use cases.