diff --git a/.changeset/tough-pianos-train.md b/.changeset/tough-pianos-train.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dbfbc1d82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/tough-pianos-train.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+---
+'slate': patch
+'slate-history': patch
+'slate-hyperscript': patch
+'slate-react': patch
+---
+
+Optimize `isElement`, `isText`, `isNodeList` and `isEditor` by removing dependency on `is-plain-object` and by performing shallow checks by default. To perform a full check, including all descendants, pass the `{ deep: true }` option to `isElement`, `isNodeList` or `isEditor`.
diff --git a/packages/slate-history/package.json b/packages/slate-history/package.json
index df9258a56..58d2061a8 100644
--- a/packages/slate-history/package.json
+++ b/packages/slate-history/package.json
@@ -13,9 +13,6 @@
   "files": [
     "dist/"
   ],
-  "dependencies": {
-    "is-plain-object": "^5.0.0"
-  },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.23.2",
     "lodash": "^4.17.21",
diff --git a/packages/slate-history/src/history.ts b/packages/slate-history/src/history.ts
index 9a43e209c..03b3badc7 100644
--- a/packages/slate-history/src/history.ts
+++ b/packages/slate-history/src/history.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
-import { Operation, Range } from 'slate'
+import { Operation, Range, isObject } from 'slate'
 
 interface Batch {
   operations: Operation[]
@@ -24,7 +23,7 @@ export const History = {
 
   isHistory(value: any): value is History {
     return (
-      isPlainObject(value) &&
+      isObject(value) &&
       Array.isArray(value.redos) &&
       Array.isArray(value.undos) &&
       (value.redos.length === 0 ||
diff --git a/packages/slate-hyperscript/package.json b/packages/slate-hyperscript/package.json
index 45e2513e1..0b64ffec0 100644
--- a/packages/slate-hyperscript/package.json
+++ b/packages/slate-hyperscript/package.json
@@ -13,9 +13,6 @@
   "files": [
     "dist/"
   ],
-  "dependencies": {
-    "is-plain-object": "^5.0.0"
-  },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@babel/runtime": "^7.23.2",
     "slate": "^0.114.0",
diff --git a/packages/slate-hyperscript/src/hyperscript.ts b/packages/slate-hyperscript/src/hyperscript.ts
index d52172132..f08216cc7 100644
--- a/packages/slate-hyperscript/src/hyperscript.ts
+++ b/packages/slate-hyperscript/src/hyperscript.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
-import { Element, createEditor as makeEditor } from 'slate'
+import { Element, createEditor as makeEditor, isObject } from 'slate'
 import {
   createAnchor,
   createCursor,
@@ -86,7 +85,7 @@ const createFactory = <T extends HyperscriptCreators>(creators: T) => {
       attributes = {}
     }
 
-    if (!isPlainObject(attributes)) {
+    if (!isObject(attributes)) {
       children = [attributes].concat(children)
       attributes = {}
     }
diff --git a/packages/slate-react/package.json b/packages/slate-react/package.json
index 7e7d16483..aa8d3aa99 100644
--- a/packages/slate-react/package.json
+++ b/packages/slate-react/package.json
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
     "@juggle/resize-observer": "^3.4.0",
     "direction": "^1.0.4",
     "is-hotkey": "^0.2.0",
-    "is-plain-object": "^5.0.0",
     "lodash": "^4.17.21",
     "scroll-into-view-if-needed": "^3.1.0",
     "tiny-invariant": "1.3.1"
diff --git a/packages/slate/package.json b/packages/slate/package.json
index 4736210ed..2f6903c89 100644
--- a/packages/slate/package.json
+++ b/packages/slate/package.json
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
   ],
   "dependencies": {
     "immer": "^10.0.3",
-    "is-plain-object": "^5.0.0",
     "tiny-warning": "^1.0.3"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/editor/is-editor.ts b/packages/slate/src/editor/is-editor.ts
index 8196bcc35..0c8112eb0 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/editor/is-editor.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/editor/is-editor.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,14 @@
 import { Editor, EditorInterface } from '../interfaces/editor'
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
 import { Range } from '../interfaces/range'
 import { Node } from '../interfaces/node'
 import { Operation } from '../interfaces/operation'
-
-const IS_EDITOR_CACHE = new WeakMap<object, boolean>()
+import { isObject } from '../utils'
 
 export const isEditor: EditorInterface['isEditor'] = (
-  value: any
+  value: any,
+  { deep = false } = {}
 ): value is Editor => {
-  const cachedIsEditor = IS_EDITOR_CACHE.get(value)
-  if (cachedIsEditor !== undefined) {
-    return cachedIsEditor
-  }
-
-  if (!isPlainObject(value)) {
+  if (!isObject(value)) {
     return false
   }
 
@@ -35,10 +29,10 @@ export const isEditor: EditorInterface['isEditor'] = (
     typeof value.onChange === 'function' &&
     typeof value.removeMark === 'function' &&
     typeof value.getDirtyPaths === 'function' &&
-    (value.marks === null || isPlainObject(value.marks)) &&
+    (value.marks === null || isObject(value.marks)) &&
     (value.selection === null || Range.isRange(value.selection)) &&
-    Node.isNodeList(value.children) &&
+    (!deep || Node.isNodeList(value.children)) &&
     Operation.isOperationList(value.operations)
-  IS_EDITOR_CACHE.set(value, isEditor)
+
   return isEditor
 }
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/index.ts b/packages/slate/src/index.ts
index 5d30415b9..1bac5ed10 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/index.ts
@@ -6,3 +6,4 @@ export * from './transforms-node'
 export * from './transforms-selection'
 export * from './transforms-text'
 export * from './types'
+export * from './utils/is-object'
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/editor.ts b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/editor.ts
index c9827e4a8..b22174f6e 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/editor.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/editor.ts
@@ -213,6 +213,10 @@ export interface EditorFragmentDeletionOptions {
   direction?: TextDirection
 }
 
+export interface EditorIsEditorOptions {
+  deep?: boolean
+}
+
 export interface EditorLeafOptions {
   depth?: number
   edge?: LeafEdge
@@ -469,7 +473,7 @@ export interface EditorInterface {
   /**
    * Check if a value is an `Editor` object.
    */
-  isEditor: (value: any) => value is Editor
+  isEditor: (value: any, options?: EditorIsEditorOptions) => value is Editor
 
   /**
    * Check if a value is a read-only `Element` object.
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/element.ts b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/element.ts
index 9d1f437af..19b7fcaa7 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/element.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/element.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
-import { Ancestor, Descendant, Editor, ExtendedType, Node, Path } from '..'
+import {
+  Ancestor,
+  Descendant,
+  Editor,
+  ExtendedType,
+  Node,
+  Path,
+  isObject,
+} from '..'
 
 /**
  * `Element` objects are a type of node in a Slate document that contain other
@@ -13,21 +20,31 @@ export interface BaseElement {
 
 export type Element = ExtendedType<'Element', BaseElement>
 
+export interface ElementIsElementOptions {
+  deep?: boolean
+}
+
 export interface ElementInterface {
   /**
    * Check if a value implements the 'Ancestor' interface.
    */
-  isAncestor: (value: any) => value is Ancestor
+  isAncestor: (
+    value: any,
+    options?: ElementIsElementOptions
+  ) => value is Ancestor
 
   /**
    * Check if a value implements the `Element` interface.
    */
-  isElement: (value: any) => value is Element
+  isElement: (value: any, options?: ElementIsElementOptions) => value is Element
 
   /**
    * Check if a value is an array of `Element` objects.
    */
-  isElementList: (value: any) => value is Element[]
+  isElementList: (
+    value: any,
+    options?: ElementIsElementOptions
+  ) => value is Element[]
 
   /**
    * Check if a set of props is a partial of Element.
@@ -56,24 +73,42 @@ export interface ElementInterface {
 /**
  * Shared the function with isElementType utility
  */
-const isElement = (value: any): value is Element => {
-  return (
-    isPlainObject(value) &&
-    Node.isNodeList(value.children) &&
-    !Editor.isEditor(value)
-  )
+const isElement = (
+  value: any,
+  { deep = false }: ElementIsElementOptions = {}
+): value is Element => {
+  if (!isObject(value)) return false
+
+  // PERF: No need to use the full Editor.isEditor here
+  const isEditor = typeof value.apply === 'function'
+  if (isEditor) return false
+
+  const isChildrenValid = deep
+    ? Node.isNodeList(value.children)
+    : Array.isArray(value.children)
+
+  return isChildrenValid
 }
 
 // eslint-disable-next-line no-redeclare
 export const Element: ElementInterface = {
-  isAncestor(value: any): value is Ancestor {
-    return isPlainObject(value) && Node.isNodeList(value.children)
+  isAncestor(
+    value: any,
+    { deep = false }: ElementIsElementOptions = {}
+  ): value is Ancestor {
+    return isObject(value) && Node.isNodeList(value.children, { deep })
   },
 
   isElement,
 
-  isElementList(value: any): value is Element[] {
-    return Array.isArray(value) && value.every(val => Element.isElement(val))
+  isElementList(
+    value: any,
+    { deep = false }: ElementIsElementOptions = {}
+  ): value is Element[] {
+    return (
+      Array.isArray(value) &&
+      value.every(val => Element.isElement(val, { deep }))
+    )
   },
 
   isElementProps(props: any): props is Partial<Element> {
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/node.ts b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/node.ts
index 6ab334e7f..f2e759203 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/node.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/node.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ export interface NodeElementsOptions {
   pass?: (node: NodeEntry) => boolean
 }
 
+export interface NodeIsNodeOptions {
+  deep?: boolean
+}
+
 export interface NodeLevelsOptions {
   reverse?: boolean
 }
@@ -144,12 +148,12 @@ export interface NodeInterface {
   /**
    * Check if a value implements the `Node` interface.
    */
-  isNode: (value: any) => value is Node
+  isNode: (value: any, options?: NodeIsNodeOptions) => value is Node
 
   /**
    * Check if a value is a list of `Node` objects.
    */
-  isNodeList: (value: any) => value is Node[]
+  isNodeList: (value: any, options?: NodeIsNodeOptions) => value is Node[]
 
   /**
    * Get the last node entry in a root node from a path.
@@ -211,8 +215,6 @@ export interface NodeInterface {
   ) => Generator<NodeEntry<Text>, void, undefined>
 }
 
-const IS_NODE_LIST_CACHE = new WeakMap<any[], boolean>()
-
 // eslint-disable-next-line no-redeclare
 export const Node: NodeInterface = {
   ancestor(root: Node, path: Path): Ancestor {
@@ -437,23 +439,21 @@ export const Node: NodeInterface = {
     return true
   },
 
-  isNode(value: any): value is Node {
+  isNode(value: any, { deep = false }: NodeIsNodeOptions = {}): value is Node {
     return (
-      Text.isText(value) || Element.isElement(value) || Editor.isEditor(value)
+      Text.isText(value) ||
+      Element.isElement(value, { deep }) ||
+      Editor.isEditor(value, { deep })
     )
   },
 
-  isNodeList(value: any): value is Node[] {
-    if (!Array.isArray(value)) {
-      return false
-    }
-    const cachedResult = IS_NODE_LIST_CACHE.get(value)
-    if (cachedResult !== undefined) {
-      return cachedResult
-    }
-    const isNodeList = value.every(val => Node.isNode(val))
-    IS_NODE_LIST_CACHE.set(value, isNodeList)
-    return isNodeList
+  isNodeList(
+    value: any,
+    { deep = false }: NodeIsNodeOptions = {}
+  ): value is Node[] {
+    return (
+      Array.isArray(value) && value.every(val => Node.isNode(val, { deep }))
+    )
   },
 
   last(root: Node, path: Path): NodeEntry {
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/operation.ts b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/operation.ts
index 0b2a6cd3f..3c0bdda45 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/operation.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/operation.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import { ExtendedType, Node, Path, Range } from '..'
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
+import { ExtendedType, Node, Path, Range, isObject } from '..'
 
 export type BaseInsertNodeOperation = {
   type: 'insert_node'
@@ -178,7 +177,7 @@ export const Operation: OperationInterface = {
   },
 
   isOperation(value: any): value is Operation {
-    if (!isPlainObject(value)) {
+    if (!isObject(value)) {
       return false
     }
 
@@ -195,7 +194,7 @@ export const Operation: OperationInterface = {
         return (
           typeof value.position === 'number' &&
           Path.isPath(value.path) &&
-          isPlainObject(value.properties)
+          isObject(value.properties)
         )
       case 'move_node':
         return Path.isPath(value.path) && Path.isPath(value.newPath)
@@ -210,21 +209,20 @@ export const Operation: OperationInterface = {
       case 'set_node':
         return (
           Path.isPath(value.path) &&
-          isPlainObject(value.properties) &&
-          isPlainObject(value.newProperties)
+          isObject(value.properties) &&
+          isObject(value.newProperties)
         )
       case 'set_selection':
         return (
           (value.properties === null && Range.isRange(value.newProperties)) ||
           (value.newProperties === null && Range.isRange(value.properties)) ||
-          (isPlainObject(value.properties) &&
-            isPlainObject(value.newProperties))
+          (isObject(value.properties) && isObject(value.newProperties))
         )
       case 'split_node':
         return (
           Path.isPath(value.path) &&
           typeof value.position === 'number' &&
-          isPlainObject(value.properties)
+          isObject(value.properties)
         )
       default:
         return false
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/point.ts b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/point.ts
index 2d8fa81e8..cb4acebbd 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/point.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/point.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
 import { produce } from 'immer'
-import { ExtendedType, Operation, Path } from '..'
+import { ExtendedType, Operation, Path, isObject } from '..'
 import { TextDirection } from '../types/types'
 
 /**
@@ -89,7 +88,7 @@ export const Point: PointInterface = {
 
   isPoint(value: any): value is Point {
     return (
-      isPlainObject(value) &&
+      isObject(value) &&
       typeof value.offset === 'number' &&
       Path.isPath(value.path)
     )
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/range.ts b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/range.ts
index b2f797017..4a6711cc9 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/range.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/range.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import { produce } from 'immer'
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
-import { ExtendedType, Operation, Path, Point, PointEntry } from '..'
+import { ExtendedType, Operation, Path, Point, PointEntry, isObject } from '..'
 import { RangeDirection } from '../types/types'
 
 /**
@@ -200,7 +199,7 @@ export const Range: RangeInterface = {
 
   isRange(value: any): value is Range {
     return (
-      isPlainObject(value) &&
+      isObject(value) &&
       Point.isPoint(value.anchor) &&
       Point.isPoint(value.focus)
     )
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/text.ts b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/text.ts
index e8178ae65..96a1faff1 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/interfaces/text.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/interfaces/text.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
-import { Path, Range } from '..'
+import { Range, isObject } from '..'
 import { ExtendedType } from '../types/custom-types'
 import { isDeepEqual } from '../utils/deep-equal'
 
@@ -93,7 +92,7 @@ export const Text: TextInterface = {
   },
 
   isText(value: any): value is Text {
-    return isPlainObject(value) && typeof value.text === 'string'
+    return isObject(value) && typeof value.text === 'string'
   },
 
   isTextList(value: any): value is Text[] {
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/utils/deep-equal.ts b/packages/slate/src/utils/deep-equal.ts
index 6677c3dfe..85302190d 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/utils/deep-equal.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/utils/deep-equal.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { isPlainObject } from 'is-plain-object'
+import { isObject } from './is-object'
 
 /*
   Custom deep equal comparison for Slate nodes.
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@ export const isDeepEqual = (
   for (const key in node) {
     const a = node[key]
     const b = another[key]
-    if (isPlainObject(a) && isPlainObject(b)) {
-      if (!isDeepEqual(a, b)) return false
-    } else if (Array.isArray(a) && Array.isArray(b)) {
+    if (Array.isArray(a) && Array.isArray(b)) {
       if (a.length !== b.length) return false
       for (let i = 0; i < a.length; i++) {
         if (a[i] !== b[i]) return false
       }
+    } else if (isObject(a) && isObject(b)) {
+      if (!isDeepEqual(a, b)) return false
     } else if (a !== b) {
       return false
     }
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/utils/index.ts b/packages/slate/src/utils/index.ts
index cd6e4d4ee..4d56496be 100644
--- a/packages/slate/src/utils/index.ts
+++ b/packages/slate/src/utils/index.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 export * from './deep-equal'
 export * from './get-default-insert-location'
+export * from './is-object'
 export * from './match-path'
 export * from './string'
 export * from './types'
diff --git a/packages/slate/src/utils/is-object.ts b/packages/slate/src/utils/is-object.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d0c6e35f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/slate/src/utils/is-object.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+export const isObject = (value: any) =>
+  typeof value === 'object' && value !== null
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 361db44a5..f15d695d1 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -13302,7 +13302,6 @@ __metadata:
   resolution: "slate-history@workspace:packages/slate-history"
   dependencies:
     "@babel/runtime": "npm:^7.23.2"
-    is-plain-object: "npm:^5.0.0"
     lodash: "npm:^4.17.21"
     slate: "npm:^0.114.0"
     slate-hyperscript: "npm:^0.100.0"
@@ -13317,7 +13316,6 @@ __metadata:
   resolution: "slate-hyperscript@workspace:packages/slate-hyperscript"
   dependencies:
     "@babel/runtime": "npm:^7.23.2"
-    is-plain-object: "npm:^5.0.0"
     slate: "npm:^0.114.0"
     source-map-loader: "npm:^4.0.1"
   peerDependencies:
@@ -13427,7 +13425,6 @@ __metadata:
     "@types/resize-observer-browser": "npm:^0.1.8"
     direction: "npm:^1.0.4"
     is-hotkey: "npm:^0.2.0"
-    is-plain-object: "npm:^5.0.0"
     lodash: "npm:^4.17.21"
     react: "npm:^18.2.0"
     react-dom: "npm:^18.2.0"
@@ -13451,7 +13448,6 @@ __metadata:
   dependencies:
     "@babel/runtime": "npm:^7.23.2"
     immer: "npm:^10.0.3"
-    is-plain-object: "npm:^5.0.0"
     lodash: "npm:^4.17.21"
     slate-hyperscript: "npm:^0.100.0"
     source-map-loader: "npm:^4.0.1"