Mellum by JetBrains vs Hush: Detailed Comparison

Overview

Mellum by JetBrains is a family of fast, open-source language models designed for low-latency inference in coding and natural language tasks. Hush is an open-source noise suppression model that removes background noise and competing voices from real-time calls, making voice AI agents more reliable.

Feature Comparison

FeatureMellum by JetBrainsHush
Primary FunctionLanguage model for code and textAudio noise suppression
Target UsersAI/ML engineers, developersVoice AI developers, contact centers
ArchitectureMixture-of-experts (MoE), 12B paramsLightweight neural network, ~8 MB
LatencyUltra-low (twice as fast as similar models)0.9 ms per 10 ms frame on CPU
DeploymentLocal or cloud, GPU recommendedCloud or data center, CPU-only
Open SourceYes, Apache 2.0Yes, open-source
Training Data10+ trillion tokens (code, web, math)10,000+ hours of noisy audio
Use CasesCode completion, RAG, agent workflowsReal-time call cleaning, ASR preprocessing

Pricing

Both Mellum and Hush are open-source and free to use. Mellum requires GPU infrastructure for inference, which incurs compute costs. Hush runs efficiently on CPU, minimizing infrastructure expenses. Enterprise support or pilot programs may involve additional costs.

Pros and Cons

Mellum by JetBrains

Pros:

  • Ultra-fast inference with MoE architecture
  • Strong coding and language performance
  • Cost-efficient with fewer active parameters
  • Flexible deployment (local or cloud)
  • Open-source with permissive license

Cons:

  • Requires GPU for optimal performance
  • Primarily focused on code tasks, less general-purpose than larger models

Hush

Pros:

  • Real-time noise suppression on CPU
  • Very small model size (8 MB)
  • Improves ASR accuracy significantly
  • Handles diverse noisy environments
  • Open-source and easy to integrate

Cons:

  • Limited to audio enhancement only
  • May not handle extreme noise scenarios perfectly

Verdict

Mellum is ideal for developers needing fast, cost-effective language models for coding and AI workflows, while Hush excels at cleaning audio for voice AI applications. Choose Mellum for text-based tasks and Hush for improving call audio quality.