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
| Feature | Mellum by JetBrains | Hush |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Function | Language model for code and text | Audio noise suppression |
| Target Users | AI/ML engineers, developers | Voice AI developers, contact centers |
| Architecture | Mixture-of-experts (MoE), 12B params | Lightweight neural network, ~8 MB |
| Latency | Ultra-low (twice as fast as similar models) | 0.9 ms per 10 ms frame on CPU |
| Deployment | Local or cloud, GPU recommended | Cloud or data center, CPU-only |
| Open Source | Yes, Apache 2.0 | Yes, open-source |
| Training Data | 10+ trillion tokens (code, web, math) | 10,000+ hours of noisy audio |
| Use Cases | Code completion, RAG, agent workflows | Real-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.

