diff --git a/src/basic/json.c b/src/basic/json.c
index cb005a1685..0a2a620c3b 100644
--- a/src/basic/json.c
+++ b/src/basic/json.c
@@ -823,7 +823,7 @@ long double json_variant_real(JsonVariant *v) {
 
 mismatch:
         log_debug("Non-integer JSON variant requested as integer, returning 0.");
-        return 0;
+        return 0.0;
 }
 
 bool json_variant_is_negative(JsonVariant *v) {