Hey so as the title states, I just downloaded Unreal Engine 5.3 about 10 minutes ago. I then entered the editor and created my first project using the Third Person Controller template. The template has barely anything in it at all, yet my frame rate is 90-110 fps. When rotating one of the cubes, the frame rate drops to 60-80 fps. I would consider my computer to be relatively powerful as it can run a lot of games really smoothly (It doesn’t have the best memory though). I guess the point of my post is to ask this question: Is it worth learning Unreal Engine considering my fps? I don’t actually notice any lag, but the “Show FPS” button shows visible frame rate drops. Is this going to make developing games using the engine an impossibility for me? I don’t want to waste time learning an engine that isn’t going to benefit me. I don’t know what the frame rate “standard” is for Unreal. I also develop games on Roblox and the standard frame rate for the Roblox Studio Editor is 60 fps. Like I said, I’m new to all of this so any help is much appreciated, thanks! 
Running in the editor viewport will be less-than-optimal.
Try running a standalone game, it’s under the Build menu. Be sure to minimize everything else.
Hit the ~ key then type ‘stat fps’, hit enter. Ought to get you a better read on your performance.
As for the overall expectation, maybe a bit less OOB performance in 5.x vs 4.2x, but there are also a lot of things 5.x does, and are turned on, vs 4.x, specifically Lumen and the like.
You can check Project Settings → Rendering and turn some stuff off if you choose not to use it.
WRT Unreal overall, I ain’t hopping over to Unity, ever. guess why.
In my post, I was referring to my fps when the game wasn’t even being run/played. It’s just my viewport fps whole editing the world. I pressed the “~” key which took me to the Console Command bar. I then typed “stat fps” in but nothing popped up. As for changing my project rendering settings, I just started Unreal Engine and don’t have the slightest clue on where to even begin when it comes to enabling/disabling certain settings. Something I forgot to mention in my original post, when setting my mode to “Unlit” my fps increases all the way up to 120 fps. Not sure if that’s worth anything.
stat fps won’t work inside the editor as the editor has it’s own little control for that.
Unlit means no lighting, which, in hindsight is (of course) where much of your overhead is going to go.
Bad advice on my part, NOT under the build menu, sorry. In v5 it’s here:
For diagnostic purposes, inside the editor, you can use the ViewMode flyout (or the Alt+number shortcuts) for various views. More stuff once you start digging in, but otherwise lets you look into a lot.
ShowFlags is the same, but for other-stuffs.
Per the above, run the standalone game and then stat fps. This will spin up a distinct process outside the editor so editor-overhead wouldn’t be part of what the new process is doing. Once you are inside that, the stat-command(s) will work.
Inside the running game, you can use F1->F10 for various views. F11 will maximize the viewport.
Standalone increases my fps to 120-130 fps. This is definitely an improvement but I think my editor fps is really important too as I can’t actually create a game if there is a ton of lag. Is learning Unreal worth it if my editor fps averages 80 and sometimes drops below 60?
The editor is not indicative of the actual running performance. I know we all want it to be 
but it’s just not, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that particular number.
Sometimes, yes, it can also just-suck in the editor.
As for is-it-worth-learning? I mean, I’m here so my answer is yes! But it might not be just the performance of the editor/engine vs what you want to do with. I have no idea the kind of game you want to make. Might be a turn-based game where FPS isn’t so important. Maybe an action platformer, etc; all depends on what you want to throw at it.
Also, I would suggest you consider the cost of the app (if applicable) licensing, royalties, as well as the ecosystem (server-support, matchmaking, etc). What about the tutorial-scene? What can you find online to help you in your learnings, is one app stronger here vs another?
For content, I have almost too-much free stuff from Epic; they cycle stuff monthly and almost hit you over the head with it. Unsure if the Unity, or other marketplaces do this. There are also a ton of standalone websites for content which kind of balances this out, but it’s worth noting on Epic’s part.
I like the engine, it performs well enough for me, but I did have to learn a bit to tweak it, my creations, et-al. It’s also approachable in that it has the Blueprints (node-based) coding vs using Visual Studio or VSCode… I use both as needs dictate but for many others BPs are a godsend…
Docs are surely lacking in some things, however, the existing docs are very good IMHO. Good walkthroughs, comparisons of features, side-by-sides, and tons of pictures.
Do you think using a older version of Unreal would be a good idea? Like Version 4.0? I think that might increase my fps, I’m not sure though.
I used 4.26 before jumping to 5.3. I use a lot of the newer features in 5.x so I cannot give you an apples-to-apples, but performance was generally ‘better’.
This guy has a good benchmarking-breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-r7tbf1cQk
Older versions of the engine will by-definition have less features and likely more bugs; at least bugs that have since been resolved you won’t be able to benefit from their fixes… Of course, all new bugs are fun, but…
If you are looking to benefit from Nanite and Global Illumination (Lumen) you would be best-served with 5.3 and likely 5.4 as performance-improvements are on their to-do list. Actual results…we’ll see but Epic, whilst up and down, hasn’t really ‘failed’ to deliver on their roadmap items: https://portal.productboard.com/epicgames/1-unreal-engine-public-roadmap/tabs/94-forward-looking
There are a ton of sample-projects. Check under the free-stuff in the marketplace, build a couple of projects and run them. See what you get for performance out of a finished product. Basically taking a car off the lot, but how else to get a sense of real-world performance?
Dont forget the content-link: https://portal.productboard.com/epicgames/1-unreal-engine-public-roadmap/tabs/21-unreal-engine-content
EDIT: If you want something decently heavy, try the 5.3 Medieval Environment: https://portal.productboard.com/epicgames/1-unreal-engine-public-roadmap/c/1298-medieval-game-environment-ue5-3-update
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