To boil down to something means to reduce a complex issue to its single essential factor once the detail is stripped away; it is a cooking metaphor and sits best in speech, meetings and journalism rather than a research paper, where reduce to or hinge on fits better. To come down to something is very close in meaning and is neutral: an outcome finally depends on that one deciding factor. Contrast: use boil down to when you are cutting through complexity to reach the core; use come down to when one factor settles a choice or result. Measure up to is different in meaning — to measure up to something is to reach an expected standard or match what was hoped for. Keep all three words together: drop the middle particle and you either get nothing ('it all boils to money') or a different verb altogether (measure up on its own means to be good enough).
Reducing to the essential point
boil down to /bɔɪl daʊn tu/ — After months of discussion, the dispute boiled down to one issue: trust.
come down to /kʌm daʊn tu/ — In the end, the decision came down to cost rather than design.
measure up to /ˈmɛʒər ʌp tu/ — The revised draft did not measure up to the client's expectations.
Not ""It all boils to money." (drops the particle 'down', so the phrase falls apart)" — say ""It all boils down to money."". Boil down to needs all three words; without down it is not the idiom and the meaning is lost.
Try it: After months of discussion, the dispute ______ one issue: trust. (boiled down to / gave rise to / allowed for) Answer: boiled down to — "boiled down to" reduces a complex disagreement to its single essential factor, which is exactly what the sentence describes. "gave rise to" would mean the dispute caused the issue rather than reduced to it, and "allowed for" means to make provision for something, which does not fit an issue emerging as the core point.
Causing a result
To give rise to something means to cause or produce it — a reaction, a problem, a debate; it is formal, common in reports and academic writing. To go back on something means to break a promise or agreement you made earlier; it is neutral and works in both speech and writing. To allow for something means to make provision for it in advance — to build room into a plan for a possible cost or delay; it too is neutral, at home in professional and everyday use. All three keep every word in fixed order, and none can drop its final preposition.
give rise to /ɡɪv raɪz tu/ — The new policy gave rise to several complaints from residents.
go back on /ɡoʊ bæk ɑn/ — The supplier chose to go back on the agreement after receiving a higher offer.
allow for /əˈlaʊ fər/ — Any realistic budget must allow for delays caused by weather and supply issues.
Not ""The policy gave rise protests." (drops the preposition 'to', so the object has nothing to attach to)" — say ""The policy gave rise to protests."". Give rise to always keeps the to before its object; it is the formal way to say something caused a result.
Try it: The supplier chose to ______ the agreement after receiving a higher offer. (go back on / give rise to / come down to) Answer: go back on — "go back on" means to break a commitment that was previously made, which is what the supplier does by abandoning the deal. "give rise to" means to cause or produce a result, so it cannot take 'the agreement' as something broken, and "come down to" means to ultimately depend on a factor, which does not describe reneging on a promise.
Try it: Any realistic budget must ______ delays caused by weather and supply issues. (allow for / measure up to / boil down to) Answer: allow for — "allow for" means to make provision for a possible cost or delay when planning, which is exactly what a budget does for weather problems. "measure up to" means to meet a standard, and "boil down to" means to reduce to an essential point, so neither describes building room into a plan for something that might happen.