Sublime Text

Sublime Text is legendary for its speed. It launches instantly, handles massive files without lag, and features multiple selections, split editing, command palette, and Goto Anything for instant navigation. The minimap gives you a bird's-eye view of your code. Technically paid ($99 license), but the evaluation period is unlimited — you can use it free forever with an occasional purchase reminder. Cross-platform on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Package Control provides thousands of community plugins.