When the New York Times rolled out its paywall this spring, The Onion was quick to poke fun. "NYTimes.com’s Plan To Charge People Money For Consuming Goods, Services Called Bold Business Move,” read a headline in the satirical news source.

Now The Onion is experimenting with a "bold" move of its own.

The website has begun to test a metered paywall. Non-U.S. visitors who want to read more than about five articles within 30 days will be asked to pay either $2.95 per month or $29.95 annually, according to paidContent.

"We are testing a meter internationally as readers in those markets are already used to paying directly for some (other) content, particularly in the UK where we have many readers," The Onion chief technology officer Michael Greer told paidContent.

Greer also said that The Onion will take its time if it decides to roll out the billing system to other platforms.

The New York Times paywall has thus far exceeded expectations with more than 1 million digital subscribers. Could a paywall on its tongue-in-cheek counterpart be equally promising? At least one person thinks so.

"In point of fact, The Onion and the New York Times are America's two best newspapers," writes Gawker's Hamilton Nolan, "so we're not too mad about their paywalls."

Image courtesy of istockphoto, rylesc