I passed all four parts of the CPA exam the first sitting with a fairly high score--avg. in the high 80s. I also passed the CA bar. CA doesn't give you a score, but I think I did fairly well on it.
I studied about 12 hours a day for 4 weeks for the CPA exam. I studied just over 7 weeks about 8-10 hours a day for the CA bar exam.
CPA exam was 2 days with 8 hours one day and 8 1/2 hours another day. However, I finished the CPA exam with plenty of time like most people do. The CA bar is 6 hours a day for 3 days and could barely finish the exam durnig the time alloted--time pressure is huge with the bar.
CA bar is considered the hardest bar. If you look at only the multistate portion of the bar its a complete joke compared to the CPA exam. The CPA exam is significantly harder. However, the essays on the CA bar are very hard because of the amount of material you have to know, the format of the essays, and the time pressure.
I was a CPA before going to law school and I always believed the CPA exam was harder than the bar because that is what CPAs claim. However, after taking the bar I have to say the bar is much harder. I had to study a lot more for the bar and I was a lot more stressed about passing the bar before the exam than the CPA--I felt better prepared for the CPA exam.
If someone told me I would die if I didn't pass either the Bar or the CPA exam I would choose the CPA exam because it is easier than the bar. However, other states are not nearly as hard as the CA bar. I suspect the CPA exam is harder than some states bar such as UT. UT bar is not hard despite what people in UT like to think.
Having said that I went to BYU for my BA in acct and MAcc and went to the U for law. So, that might have something to do with it. 
