diff --git a/include/sentry.h b/include/sentry.h
index b24c588be..a57452f7e 100644
--- a/include/sentry.h
+++ b/include/sentry.h
@@ -1209,7 +1209,7 @@ SENTRY_EXPERIMENTAL_API void sentry_options_set_max_spans(
  * Gets the maximum number of spans that can be attached to a
  * transaction.
  */
-SENTRY_EXPERIMENTAL_API int sentry_options_get_max_spans(
+SENTRY_EXPERIMENTAL_API size_t sentry_options_get_max_spans(
     sentry_options_t *opts);
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/sentry_options.c b/src/sentry_options.c
index c672bcbe9..e5295a95f 100644
--- a/src/sentry_options.c
+++ b/src/sentry_options.c
@@ -389,7 +389,7 @@ sentry_options_set_max_spans(sentry_options_t *opts, size_t max_spans)
  * Gets the maximum number of spans that can be attached to a
  * transaction.
  */
-int
+size_t
 sentry_options_get_max_spans(sentry_options_t *opts)
 {
     return opts->max_spans;