diff --git a/server/mqtt.go b/server/mqtt.go
index d383d3ebb..df08689b4 100644
--- a/server/mqtt.go
+++ b/server/mqtt.go
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ func (m *MQTT) encode(v any) string {
 	case string:
 		return val
 	case float64:
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%.3f", val)
+		// trim trailing zeros
+		return strings.TrimRight(strings.TrimRight(fmt.Sprintf("%.3f", val), "0"), ".")
 	case time.Time:
 		if val.IsZero() {
 			return ""